So, I don't have that much experience with D&D, any version of it, neither as a player or DM. I've done a lot of rp (8 years or so), sometimes with stats connected to our characters but other than that, I don't have that much experience.
I was wondering if it was reasonable to think starting off as a DM first since I've noticed the lack of DM on most communities. I'm fairly confident in my story-telling skill and I think it's possible but since I havent played that much, I wanted some opinions from the community as to how it would reflect on my players.
At the same time, I wanted to know if you guys had any advices, should I read the complete rule book and DM guide beforehand?
This gentleman helps answer a lot of questions and he gives out a lot of good information too, especially for new DM's like you and myself. I would say it helps to know the rules so your players can trust your decision making, but everyone makes mistakes every so often. I would also suggest looking at DM tips with Matthew Mercer, as he is a popular DM that is very experienced.
Reading the guidebooks for the game you plan on running is generally a good thing to do yes.
That said, the biggest issue that new DM's face is tending to get in their own way by fussing over details and "not being good enough." If you think you need some training wheels, I'd suggest starting with a short published adventure. WotC puts out a handful of free one-shot PDFs on occasion that seems nice enough. Failing that, there are some actual published adventure modules that are new player/DM friendly. People tend to really like the Lost Mine of Phandelver, and there was the new Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure that is in a box set that seems to be liked as well.
Basically, best advice is don't worry so much. Prepare to the point that you are comfortable and your friends are having fun. If you think you tell a good story, there's a good chance your players will have a great time. Just remember that they are their to help you tell the story as well.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Thank you for thinking about becoming a DM! Many Dungeon Masters fill that role simply because a group wants to play, but everyone is new, so eventually someone agrees to DM. Everyone has to begin DMing somewhere, and all you need to get started is what you already have...the interest in running a game for your friends!
For suggestions, check out Matt Colville's Running the Game series on YouTube. Especially the first few videos that will get you going pretty much right away. Also I recommend looking into either the Essentials Kit or the Starter Set, as both have everything you and your players need to start a game and both have pre-written adventures that are very new DM friendly!
Less expectations on how you think it will be are better. Best laid plans and all that...
Cooperative storytelling is better than DM vs. Players.
I recommend against a heavy use of "no" on player ideas. The players can take you on an unexpected journey, too, if you let them. Guidance, not railroads.
Worthy to repeat: All personal opinions.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
This gentleman helps answer a lot of questions and he gives out a lot of good information too, especially for new DM's like you and myself. I would say it helps to know the rules so your players can trust your decision making, but everyone makes mistakes every so often. I would also suggest looking at DM tips with Matthew Mercer, as he is a popular DM that is very experienced.
Reading the guidebooks for the game you plan on running is generally a good thing to do yes.
That said, the biggest issue that new DM's face is tending to get in their own way by fussing over details and "not being good enough." If you think you need some training wheels, I'd suggest starting with a short published adventure. WotC puts out a handful of free one-shot PDFs on occasion that seems nice enough. Failing that, there are some actual published adventure modules that are new player/DM friendly. People tend to really like the Lost Mine of Phandelver, and there was the new Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure that is in a box set that seems to be liked as well.
Basically, best advice is don't worry so much. Prepare to the point that you are comfortable and your friends are having fun. If you think you tell a good story, there's a good chance your players will have a great time. Just remember that they are their to help you tell the story as well.
Oh yeah! I'll take a look at these adventures, I had seen something similar concerning presets but having suggestions sure helps a lot :) I originally speak french so i'm also worried about language barrier but I think i'll be fine as long as I prepare a bit and keep my cool!
Thank you for thinking about becoming a DM! Many Dungeon Masters fill that role simply because a group wants to play, but everyone is new, so eventually someone agrees to DM. Everyone has to begin DMing somewhere, and all you need to get started is what you already have...the interest in running a game for your friends!
For suggestions, check out Matt Colville's Running the Game series on YouTube. Especially the first few videos that will get you going pretty much right away. Also I recommend looking into either the Essentials Kit or the Starter Set, as both have everything you and your players need to start a game and both have pre-written adventures that are very new DM friendly!
Haha, at first I thought of playing some games to get more experience but thinking about it, I realized that what I really wanted was to be a DM. I'm thinking of finding some players here since all my IRL friends are either uninterested or having multiple games already(that sure breaks my heart thought).
I'll note that name down and take a look at the presets recommended by the previous person who replied :)
Less expectations on how you think it will be are better. Best laid plans and all that...
Cooperative storytelling is better than DM vs. Players.
I recommend against a heavy use of "no" on player ideas. The players can take you on an unexpected journey, too, if you let them. Guidance, not railroads.
Worthy to repeat: All personal opinions.
I'll keep that in mind! I agree that blocking the player's imagination will either frustrate him and keep the game from flowing in sometime excellent moments. What is important is not exactly the game itself and following the rules by heart in my opinion, I think that everyone having a great time is fun and letting some "I'll allow it" can create wonderful and funny moments too :)
I had not thought about cooperative storytelling, that sounds compelling, I'll try to head for that way. Until i'm able to get a good balance of cooperative or DM vs Players experience. Being unfair would make the experience painful for everyone.
Absolutely pick up DMing. It's a very rewarding hobby, of course you're talking to DMs. I'd suggest picking up the Lost Mine of Phandelver or D&D Essentials Kit first, as they both come with the basic rules in addition a good adventure. I'd also suggest finding a way get play as a player occasionally as it helps you understand how things look from a player's perspective.
I will add my +1 to the previous suggestion of Matt Colville's "Running the Game" series on YouTube.
I will also suggest, once you are done with those 80-something videos, that you try out his "Campaign Diary" as well. This is him narrating once a week for 20 minutes or so, starting some years ago, how he ran a group of new players through is campaign for them. He is painfully honest about what mistakes he has made, and tells you exactly what he would have done in hindsight to make it better. So you can see that he is still learning and growing as a DM despite having done it since like 1988... and you can learn from his mistakes (which is explicitly why he posts these).
Between the two you are talking about something like 100 hours of Youtube videos if not more, so it is a lot of watching, but you can't help but become a better DM from watching these.
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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.
I also usually suggest his Campaign Diaries as well, but if they watch Running the Game then they’ll find the Diaries too.
Don’t be discouraged by how much content Mr. Colville has up, he makes sure his videos are informative entertaining and best of all bite sized so it’s easy to absorb and easy to fit into your schedule.
As a rookie DM myself (8 months, 1 campaign), the best advice I can add to the above is to dissect the DMG and PHB. When I went through those two books after the 4th argument about rules, I used a pad of sticky notes and sticky bookmarks to annotate the sh!t out of them. I discovered that the RULES are really only about 34/316 pages in the PHB and a bit more in the DMG (my apprentice DM has my book at the moment, so I can't give exact numbers, but it's low). Once you sort that out, it becomes MUCH more manageable to learn the rules. After I did that, I went through only those specific sections and annotated the specific rules that were confusing for one reason or another. Either they hadn't come up (yet), or they were complicated to get the first time. The rest I understood as making logical enough sense that I didn't need to memorize them.
I still have hiccups, but I make a decision in-game just to keep play moving and then go back and sort it out later. Most importantly, if I discover I made a bad call, I let my players know immediately, with a full explanation as to why. That way, if they want to make that same decision again ("I wanna hide behind the halfling holding my shield!"), they can do so.
Carrion
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Hello,
So, I don't have that much experience with D&D, any version of it, neither as a player or DM. I've done a lot of rp (8 years or so), sometimes with stats connected to our characters but other than that, I don't have that much experience.
I was wondering if it was reasonable to think starting off as a DM first since I've noticed the lack of DM on most communities. I'm fairly confident in my story-telling skill and I think it's possible but since I havent played that much, I wanted some opinions from the community as to how it would reflect on my players.
At the same time, I wanted to know if you guys had any advices, should I read the complete rule book and DM guide beforehand?
Thanks in advance!
https://www.youtube.com/user/Bon3zmann
This gentleman helps answer a lot of questions and he gives out a lot of good information too, especially for new DM's like you and myself. I would say it helps to know the rules so your players can trust your decision making, but everyone makes mistakes every so often. I would also suggest looking at DM tips with Matthew Mercer, as he is a popular DM that is very experienced.
Reading the guidebooks for the game you plan on running is generally a good thing to do yes.
That said, the biggest issue that new DM's face is tending to get in their own way by fussing over details and "not being good enough." If you think you need some training wheels, I'd suggest starting with a short published adventure. WotC puts out a handful of free one-shot PDFs on occasion that seems nice enough. Failing that, there are some actual published adventure modules that are new player/DM friendly. People tend to really like the Lost Mine of Phandelver, and there was the new Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure that is in a box set that seems to be liked as well.
Basically, best advice is don't worry so much. Prepare to the point that you are comfortable and your friends are having fun. If you think you tell a good story, there's a good chance your players will have a great time. Just remember that they are their to help you tell the story as well.
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InsiderThank you for thinking about becoming a DM! Many Dungeon Masters fill that role simply because a group wants to play, but everyone is new, so eventually someone agrees to DM. Everyone has to begin DMing somewhere, and all you need to get started is what you already have...the interest in running a game for your friends!
For suggestions, check out Matt Colville's Running the Game series on YouTube. Especially the first few videos that will get you going pretty much right away. Also I recommend looking into either the Essentials Kit or the Starter Set, as both have everything you and your players need to start a game and both have pre-written adventures that are very new DM friendly!
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren
Disclaimer: All personal opinions.
Less expectations on how you think it will be are better. Best laid plans and all that...
Cooperative storytelling is better than DM vs. Players.
I recommend against a heavy use of "no" on player ideas. The players can take you on an unexpected journey, too, if you let them. Guidance, not railroads.
Worthy to repeat: All personal opinions.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Wow! Was not really expecting that much feedback to be honest! Thanks a lot for all the ideas and tips.
Taken note of these names!
Oh yeah! I'll take a look at these adventures, I had seen something similar concerning presets but having suggestions sure helps a lot :) I originally speak french so i'm also worried about language barrier but I think i'll be fine as long as I prepare a bit and keep my cool!
Thanks again!
Haha, at first I thought of playing some games to get more experience but thinking about it, I realized that what I really wanted was to be a DM. I'm thinking of finding some players here since all my IRL friends are either uninterested or having multiple games already(that sure breaks my heart thought).
I'll note that name down and take a look at the presets recommended by the previous person who replied :)
Thanks a lot!
I'll keep that in mind! I agree that blocking the player's imagination will either frustrate him and keep the game from flowing in sometime excellent moments. What is important is not exactly the game itself and following the rules by heart in my opinion, I think that everyone having a great time is fun and letting some "I'll allow it" can create wonderful and funny moments too :)
I had not thought about cooperative storytelling, that sounds compelling, I'll try to head for that way. Until i'm able to get a good balance of cooperative or DM vs Players experience. Being unfair would make the experience painful for everyone.
Thanks again everyone!
Absolutely pick up DMing. It's a very rewarding hobby, of course you're talking to DMs. I'd suggest picking up the Lost Mine of Phandelver or D&D Essentials Kit first, as they both come with the basic rules in addition a good adventure. I'd also suggest finding a way get play as a player occasionally as it helps you understand how things look from a player's perspective.
This is the best advice I ever got on how to DM.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
As a new DM myself who is now on my second campaign, the best advice when it comes to awarding items is this:
Be very wary of giving items that give bonuses to ability scores, attack hit chance, spell save DC, Armor Class, and saving throws.
Give items that grant utility. Additional spells, movement speeds, skill bonuses, that sort of thing.
Giving a Barbarian a magic weapon with +1 to hit, or magic armor with +1 to AC is a pretty huge power increase.
Giving a Barbarian a pyroconverger, or a philter of love, on the other hand, can lead to some hilarious things.
I will add my +1 to the previous suggestion of Matt Colville's "Running the Game" series on YouTube.
I will also suggest, once you are done with those 80-something videos, that you try out his "Campaign Diary" as well. This is him narrating once a week for 20 minutes or so, starting some years ago, how he ran a group of new players through is campaign for them. He is painfully honest about what mistakes he has made, and tells you exactly what he would have done in hindsight to make it better. So you can see that he is still learning and growing as a DM despite having done it since like 1988... and you can learn from his mistakes (which is explicitly why he posts these).
Between the two you are talking about something like 100 hours of Youtube videos if not more, so it is a lot of watching, but you can't help but become a better DM from watching these.
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 also usually suggest his Campaign Diaries as well, but if they watch Running the Game then they’ll find the Diaries too.
Don’t be discouraged by how much content Mr. Colville has up, he makes sure his videos are informative entertaining and best of all bite sized so it’s easy to absorb and easy to fit into your schedule.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
As a rookie DM myself (8 months, 1 campaign), the best advice I can add to the above is to dissect the DMG and PHB. When I went through those two books after the 4th argument about rules, I used a pad of sticky notes and sticky bookmarks to annotate the sh!t out of them. I discovered that the RULES are really only about 34/316 pages in the PHB and a bit more in the DMG (my apprentice DM has my book at the moment, so I can't give exact numbers, but it's low). Once you sort that out, it becomes MUCH more manageable to learn the rules. After I did that, I went through only those specific sections and annotated the specific rules that were confusing for one reason or another. Either they hadn't come up (yet), or they were complicated to get the first time. The rest I understood as making logical enough sense that I didn't need to memorize them.
I still have hiccups, but I make a decision in-game just to keep play moving and then go back and sort it out later. Most importantly, if I discover I made a bad call, I let my players know immediately, with a full explanation as to why. That way, if they want to make that same decision again ("I wanna hide behind the halfling holding my shield!"), they can do so.
Carrion