A rather big mistake I tend to see relatively often is that often times DMs will go in with the mindset that they have to "beat" or "win against" the players when it's actually the complete opposite. In my opinion, DnD- and by extension, any table-top RPG is a partnership between the players and the person running the game. It shouldn't be a competition when the end result should ideally be, to have fun.
This.
DnD and other table top RPGs are collaborative storytelling exercises. Players tell the story through their characters and their actions, while the DM tells the story from every other viewpoint (especially ones that aren't character related like Time, Weather, etc). You'll need to communicate with your players to best present the world in a way that they can best influence the story. Like other people have mentioned, a Session 0 is useful to help set some expectations for both you and your players. As long as you're working with your players, things should go smoothly, and the more your players contribute, the less of the workload for you.
There is no one word of wisdom that makes a great DM. Great DM’s are made from a combination of attributes to make them great. When I first rolled those 3d6 for my DM attributes I had a few 3’s in there. Creative thought was an 8 or some atrocity very similar.
You need to be able to have fun and understanding your player’s wants and needs is your top priority.
Build and tell a story. I used to practice telling ghost stories around the fire. Your ability to create a story and let it unfold at the mercy of your players is its own reward.
The biggest advice I can give is build a “Story Tree”. Have a beginning and climax to each part of your campaign. I use story trees in all my games. Have a starting point and then draw out a bunch of branches which represent the different options the players may take that will all lead back to the same conclusion. This often means you need to really think on your feet. As a DM you must throw out the hook to catch the players and draw them into the story. What happens when the players don’t take the bait and decide they want to kill goblins instead of hunting down the Bandit leader? You have a new story unfolding and roll with it.
Too to continue along the line you have set up so be prepared for this. Story tree branch number 2 comes into play and now you can make those nasty goblins part of the story. With a twist that they are in an uneasy alliance with the bandit leader and the players find this by interrogating a captured goblin that conveniently surrenders or perhaps some sort of scroll detailing the plan.
The point is that no matter what the players do there will always be a way for you to steer them in the direction you need them to go. Doesn’t matter how many detours they take. I had a beginner party once that was dead set on going to a completely different city instead of taking the job of reducing the crime in the starting town by going after the so called bandit leader. So I let them leave with the next caravan heading that way. I then had the caravan attacked by the same bandits hoping the players would than enact revenge. One of the bandits also made off with the wizards spell book in the chaos of battle. There are always ways to direct players. Be creative and be able to adapt.
Try not to kill players. No one likes to see their treasured warrior who they have played for a year get backstabbed by a city rogue. This doesn’t mean go easy on them.
Invent memorable NPC’s. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting around with your players and listening to them talk about that annoying Jester or a recurring villain from a few weeks ago. This lets you know you are doing a good job. Good luck
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JT "You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
Everyone will probably tell you to be super prepared. I think that's a mistake. Be well read, know your setting, know your plot and the NPC's within it, know the location where the PC's start and have good hooks for them to want to latch onto.
Then run the session on the fly. By setting up a prepared scenario, you limit yourself creatively and end up having those prepared elements become expectations of how the game will play out. By simply laying the groundwork, you'll have all the material ready in your head, to use as a springboard rather than as a strait-jacket.
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
Make sure everyone is on board with playing the kind of game you are making. A lot of the biggest problems gaming groups face stem from expectations that aren't communicated properly.
Get everyone together before the game starts to make their characters together. Go around the table and have each player say how their character knows at least one other person on the party and why they are traveling with them.
Don't info dumb on your players all about your awesome world. Chances are, sadly, that they don't care. Instead, offer them opportunities to fill in parts of the setting. Let them name NPCs, towns, etc. and come up with details if they feel so inclined. It will give them a sense of agency.
Don't focus so much on one player that you ignore others. Make sure everyone has an opportunity to do something awesome.
Let yourself make mistakes. Nobody is perfect and that's okay.
Don't take any one piece of advice as a cardinal rule. It's your game, do what works for you.
Backup your notes
Try to avoid creating scenarios where NPCs talk to each other but not the PCs. It's just weird sitting at the table while the DM talks to him/herself.
Don't be afraid to call for a break if you need to look something up. Breaks are good for grabbing snacks and going to the bathroom.
Make sure everyone understands and agrees to a code of conduct at the game table. Basic thinks like don't be a jerk, don't tell other people how to play their characters, don't constantly challenge the DM's rulings, don't spend the whole session on your phone, etc.
My main advice: railroading isn't necessarily bad, but if you're going to do it, do it right.
The main mistake I see most new DM's make is that they don't view their story from the player's perspective and don't try to provide good motives for the players to follow their directives. I have seen new DM's prepare great adventures with fantastic plot hooks, and intricate clues and intrigue that follow on from one another, then have them fall apart at the very beginning because the group didn't know where to go next, or didn't follow the logical step that the DM assumed the group would take.
Example: An assassin strikes down someone in the street in front of the players and starts to run. The newbie DM assumed the party would sprint after the assassin to arrest/interrogate him and then the DM would be able to hook the players into this grand assassination plot. Instead, the party stayed behind, and tried to heal the assassin target and make sure no one else was injured, thus losing their only lead. The newbie DM had no idea what to do now and there was a very noticeable and awkward moment where he floundered trying to come up with a way to reintroduce the plot hook. The problem wasn't so much that the players jumped off the rails, it's that the DM forgot to lay a piece of the track and derailed himself.
The problem could have been solved if the DM had simply had a bystander yell something like: "My god he's killed this man, someone go after him!" Players need these small little nudges to ensure that they remain on the right path. Otherwise sometimes they'll just fall off through no fault of their own.
My main advice: railroading isn't necessarily bad, but if you're going to do it, do it right.
The main mistake I see most new DM's make is that they don't view their story from the player's perspective and don't try to provide good motives for the players to follow their directives. I have seen new DM's prepare great adventures with fantastic plot hooks, and intricate clues and intrigue that follow on from one another, then have them fall apart at the very beginning because the group didn't know where to go next, or didn't follow the logical step that the DM assumed the group would take.
Example: An assassin strikes down someone in the street in front of the players and starts to run. The newbie DM assumed the party would sprint after the assassin to arrest/interrogate him and then the DM would be able to hook the players into this grand assassination plot. Instead, the party stayed behind, and tried to heal the assassin target and make sure no one else was injured, thus losing their only lead. The newbie DM had no idea what to do now and there was a very noticeable and awkward moment where he floundered trying to come up with a way to reintroduce the plot hook. The problem wasn't so much that the players jumped off the rails, it's that the DM forgot to lay a piece of the track and derailed himself.
The problem could have been solved if the DM had simply had a bystander yell something like: "My god he's killed this man, someone go after him!" Players need these small little nudges to ensure that they remain on the right path. Otherwise sometimes they'll just fall off through no fault of their own.
That's a great example, and I too see that happen plenty. It's a good learning moment for a New DM.
I think all new DM's really need a mentor to help them with the rough times and encourage the great times.
A few of us were laughing about having a college course of Tabletop RPG's. When you think about it there is a ton of material to cover.
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JT "You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
Roll with a "yes, and" style of gameplay where player suggestions are always going to be followed. That doesn't mean they'll always succeed, but, to quote Matthew Mercer, "you can certainly try."
As important as the 'how did this happen' is to story, make sure to take into account the 'why did this happen' so that players feel as though the world isn't just "do this to gain experience" but has more of a rich history and that your antagonists have motivations beyond just "i need someone to stand in the party's way for a while."
I would also suggest weaving in character backstory elements to the larger narrative once the party has a few adventures under their belt, so that they feel more like central heroes instead of people just running around doing dungeon crawls or fetch quests.
Learn your player's preferred style of play and try to incorporate that into how the game runs. Definitely have a session 0 where you go over the rules you'll be using and offer up help in the character creation process. If people already have rolled characters coming into session 0, this is a great time to have everyone introduce themselves in an OOC moment.
Most importantly, have fun and make sure your players are having fun, too.
The worst thing that can happen in any RPG is for the adventure to require something, such as the ability to survive a fight, that no one in the party has.
There's also good old "if no one plays a _, the DM's plans will work perfectly. The DM didn't know that and so forgot to outlaw it. Therefore, someone will play a _." An example is an adventure in which the PC is kidnapped and taken to a land that doesn't appear on any map they've ever seen, where no one speaks a language they know; foiled by comprehend languages or the monk's Tongue of the Sun and Moon. I got a 20th-level monk.
Don't make your players feel stupid. Players want to feel heroic, special, successful. This is fantasy.
Characters can be roll played as stupid, but players should be made to feel smart and empowered. If the players can't figure out your puzzle, especially if it's an excessively esoteric puzzle, especially if you've failed to thoroughly describe the key element needed to solve that puzzle, don't get frustrated with them when they can't solve it.
Don't constantly threaten to kill your players characters, even in jest. Once in a while in jest, maybe. All the time starts to paint a picture. And it ain't a pretty picture.
Don't disenfranchise your players. Combat should make your players feel like they've contributed to a successful team. Combat should not be so unbalanced that the players can't possibly win, no matter what, unless your favorite high level npc fights the battle for them. Watching the DM roll dice with themself for an hour is NOT FUN for players. Traps should not have such a high DC that your players only have a 10% chance to survive them. At least not all the time.
Don't take away your players' favorite abilities or items. If you, for example, give your players a heroes feast potion, dont have an improbably high level enemy show up and immediately dispell it. If they win a magic weapon from an enemy thru a successful encounter, don't have that enemy run away, then come back next session, improbably more powerful, and take the item back.
Don't deny magic weapons to your players and then pit them against monsters immune/resistant against mundane dmg.
If your players, in character, devise reasoned and logical arguments to persuade their way out of a situation, don't stonewall them. At least give them a roll.
Don't make your players roll for deception if they give someone they've never met a fake name. Or, if you do, make the DC 1 or 2. That npc has absolutely no reason to think that person is lying. If I meet some one on the street, and they say ' my names jim,' I'm gonna say 'hi jim.' NOT 'hmmm, u must be lying.' That would be DM metagaming. Or be perceived as such.
Don't whammy ur players with a trap that nearly wipes them out, then roll your eyes if they then proceed to be over cautious and check for traps every 5 feet.
My DM makes this mistake frequently: He builds an encounter that will be challenging based on how he thinks the party will behave. If the party changes behavior, he doesn't adjust to keep it challenging and it either becomes completely overpowering and deadly or a total cakewalk.
Example 1: He true-killed 3 party members and knocked a 4th into death saves with a lightning bolt against a party of 5 lvl 2s on the 1st real round of combat (we got a semi-surprise round). When we tried to explain that a lightning bolt spell was inappropriate against a party of lvl 2s, he explained that he thought we would listen to the villain exposition instead of trying to get a surprise round, thought we would all spread out around him rather than trying to take cover in various areas leading up towards him (that all happened to be in a line), that he thought the druid would've wildshaped into a bear instead of a panther so would have more hp, and that we wouldn't have done as much damage to him as quickly as we did so he wouldn't have used it until the end of the fight instead of at the beginning of it.
Example 2: He set up an encounter designed for us to need to be "saved" by the town guard he had arriving in 3 rounds. He planned for us to each go investigate the disappearance of a party member one by one where the enemy could pick them off. Instead, we went out as a group, found the enemy, engaged them normally, our bard used a sleep spell to knock three of them out right away, a couple of lucky crits, and the entire group of enemies including their boss was either dead or subdued within 2 rounds and the town guard walked up to find us interrogating one enemy and looting the others.
Be prepared to change your tactics and what you plan to do based on what the party does. Any party will ruin all of your plans in a single round, so be loose with the plans and be prepared to improvise.
These examples are a good way of illustrating the problem with the collaborative story-telling idea from the DM's perspective. Everyone round the table is creating a story together, but only one person has a plan for where they expect that story to go - the DM. As others have said, using a branching structure and improvising on the spot can help guide the story, but ultimately it's up to your party as to what happens next. Any DM who plans a series of causes and effects to the level of detail described above is bound to run into problems pretty fast.
Everyone will probably tell you to be super prepared. I think that's a mistake. Be well read, know your setting, know your plot and the NPC's within it, know the location where the PC's start and have good hooks for them to want to latch onto.
Then run the session on the fly. By setting up a prepared scenario, you limit yourself creatively and end up having those prepared elements become expectations of how the game will play out. By simply laying the groundwork, you'll have all the material ready in your head, to use as a springboard rather than as a strait-jacket.
Thank you very much everyone for the replies to Magerage's question. Our group is finishing a homebrew campaign soon and will pick up SKT in about a month with myself as a virgin DM. I hope they go gentle on me. To prepare for this I've also found some really solid advice on DM'ing and running the game on youtube. Also watching streams of groups who play online like Vox Machina is teaching me a lot.
Not sure if it's against the forum guidelines to post links to youtube content or not but a simple search on there should provide a treasure trove of information about running the game and how not to run the game.
Thank you very much everyone for the replies to Magerage's question. Our group is finishing a homebrew campaign soon and will pick up SKT in about a month with myself as a virgin DM. I hope they go gentle on me. To prepare for this I've also found some really solid advice on DM'ing and running the game on youtube. Also watching streams of groups who play online like Vox Machina is teaching me a lot.
Not sure if it's against the forum guidelines to post links to youtube content or not but a simple search on there should provide a treasure trove of information about running the game and how not to run the game.
I think watching other groups play is an awesome way to get little bits of advice and developing a DM style. I would take a bit from everything and start making your own DM soup pot. Remember that every group of players is different and the personality mix you have can never be duplicated.
Use what you know and put your own spin on it. Make it yours and your players game. I did lots of completely different thing than what was just in the book.
There are a ton of things left open for you the DM to place your own thoughts into the adventure. Somethings that will help you make it your players game is looking at their individual backgrounds and find ways to slide in events or incorporate the locations into your your groups story. There is a lot of territory to cover, One of your players might have a shady past from one or two of the locations their could possibly visit.
Good Luck and may the story never end.
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JT "You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
It's already been said but bears repeating, especially with so many folks rushing in with their own opinion on the matter, the biggest mistake a new Dungeon Master can make is taking the whole thing too seriously and / or putting too much pressure on themselves to not make mistakes. The best thing you can do, in DM'ing or any other pursuit, is relax and take it all in stride. Seek advice, certainly, but then take it all in stride and let the advice sink in (or out) gradually over time.
Second, know the basic rules as well as you reasonably can. But again, don't over-stress it.
Third, definitely realize your role is to set the stage, not, as others have pointed out, to be the adversary of the players.
Fourth, if you have time and interest, give Matt Colville a look and listen. He's got an excellent series on "running the game" for beginners: Matt Colville: Running the Game Intro
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PBP "Beregost Blues" - Dungeon Master of Gnome Slaying +5
I don't know if it has been said but don't take what you see on popular DnD shows are the normal. Not everyone is an experienced actor or voice-actor so don't worry about being at good or your sessions don't turn out how you had hoped, its ok if you make a mistakes or get something wrong. just stick with it.
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Thanks for all these great replies everyone! They're a great help
DnD and other table top RPGs are collaborative storytelling exercises. Players tell the story through their characters and their actions, while the DM tells the story from every other viewpoint (especially ones that aren't character related like Time, Weather, etc). You'll need to communicate with your players to best present the world in a way that they can best influence the story. Like other people have mentioned, a Session 0 is useful to help set some expectations for both you and your players. As long as you're working with your players, things should go smoothly, and the more your players contribute, the less of the workload for you.
What Makes a Great Dungeon Master?
There is no one word of wisdom that makes a great DM. Great DM’s are made from a combination of attributes to make them great. When I first rolled those 3d6 for my DM attributes I had a few 3’s in there. Creative thought was an 8 or some atrocity very similar.
You need to be able to have fun and understanding your player’s wants and needs is your top priority.
Build and tell a story. I used to practice telling ghost stories around the fire. Your ability to create a story and let it unfold at the mercy of your players is its own reward.
The biggest advice I can give is build a “Story Tree”. Have a beginning and climax to each part of your campaign. I use story trees in all my games. Have a starting point and then draw out a bunch of branches which represent the different options the players may take that will all lead back to the same conclusion. This often means you need to really think on your feet. As a DM you must throw out the hook to catch the players and draw them into the story. What happens when the players don’t take the bait and decide they want to kill goblins instead of hunting down the Bandit leader? You have a new story unfolding and roll with it.
Too to continue along the line you have set up so be prepared for this. Story tree branch number 2 comes into play and now you can make those nasty goblins part of the story. With a twist that they are in an uneasy alliance with the bandit leader and the players find this by interrogating a captured goblin that conveniently surrenders or perhaps some sort of scroll detailing the plan.
The point is that no matter what the players do there will always be a way for you to steer them in the direction you need them to go. Doesn’t matter how many detours they take. I had a beginner party once that was dead set on going to a completely different city instead of taking the job of reducing the crime in the starting town by going after the so called bandit leader. So I let them leave with the next caravan heading that way. I then had the caravan attacked by the same bandits hoping the players would than enact revenge. One of the bandits also made off with the wizards spell book in the chaos of battle. There are always ways to direct players. Be creative and be able to adapt.
Try not to kill players. No one likes to see their treasured warrior who they have played for a year get backstabbed by a city rogue. This doesn’t mean go easy on them.
Invent memorable NPC’s. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting around with your players and listening to them talk about that annoying Jester or a recurring villain from a few weeks ago. This lets you know you are doing a good job.
Good luck
JT " You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
Everyone will probably tell you to be super prepared. I think that's a mistake. Be well read, know your setting, know your plot and the NPC's within it, know the location where the PC's start and have good hooks for them to want to latch onto.
Then run the session on the fly. By setting up a prepared scenario, you limit yourself creatively and end up having those prepared elements become expectations of how the game will play out. By simply laying the groundwork, you'll have all the material ready in your head, to use as a springboard rather than as a strait-jacket.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
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My main advice: railroading isn't necessarily bad, but if you're going to do it, do it right.
The main mistake I see most new DM's make is that they don't view their story from the player's perspective and don't try to provide good motives for the players to follow their directives. I have seen new DM's prepare great adventures with fantastic plot hooks, and intricate clues and intrigue that follow on from one another, then have them fall apart at the very beginning because the group didn't know where to go next, or didn't follow the logical step that the DM assumed the group would take.
Example: An assassin strikes down someone in the street in front of the players and starts to run. The newbie DM assumed the party would sprint after the assassin to arrest/interrogate him and then the DM would be able to hook the players into this grand assassination plot. Instead, the party stayed behind, and tried to heal the assassin target and make sure no one else was injured, thus losing their only lead. The newbie DM had no idea what to do now and there was a very noticeable and awkward moment where he floundered trying to come up with a way to reintroduce the plot hook. The problem wasn't so much that the players jumped off the rails, it's that the DM forgot to lay a piece of the track and derailed himself.
The problem could have been solved if the DM had simply had a bystander yell something like: "My god he's killed this man, someone go after him!" Players need these small little nudges to ensure that they remain on the right path. Otherwise sometimes they'll just fall off through no fault of their own.
You're doing a bang up job
JT " You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
Roll with a "yes, and" style of gameplay where player suggestions are always going to be followed. That doesn't mean they'll always succeed, but, to quote Matthew Mercer, "you can certainly try."
As important as the 'how did this happen' is to story, make sure to take into account the 'why did this happen' so that players feel as though the world isn't just "do this to gain experience" but has more of a rich history and that your antagonists have motivations beyond just "i need someone to stand in the party's way for a while."
I would also suggest weaving in character backstory elements to the larger narrative once the party has a few adventures under their belt, so that they feel more like central heroes instead of people just running around doing dungeon crawls or fetch quests.
Learn your player's preferred style of play and try to incorporate that into how the game runs. Definitely have a session 0 where you go over the rules you'll be using and offer up help in the character creation process. If people already have rolled characters coming into session 0, this is a great time to have everyone introduce themselves in an OOC moment.
Most importantly, have fun and make sure your players are having fun, too.
The worst thing that can happen in any RPG is for the adventure to require something, such as the ability to survive a fight, that no one in the party has.
There's also good old "if no one plays a _, the DM's plans will work perfectly. The DM didn't know that and so forgot to outlaw it. Therefore, someone will play a _." An example is an adventure in which the PC is kidnapped and taken to a land that doesn't appear on any map they've ever seen, where no one speaks a language they know; foiled by comprehend languages or the monk's Tongue of the Sun and Moon. I got a 20th-level monk.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Don't make your players feel stupid. Players want to feel heroic, special, successful. This is fantasy.
Characters can be roll played as stupid, but players should be made to feel smart and empowered. If the players can't figure out your puzzle, especially if it's an excessively esoteric puzzle, especially if you've failed to thoroughly describe the key element needed to solve that puzzle, don't get frustrated with them when they can't solve it.
Don't constantly threaten to kill your players characters, even in jest. Once in a while in jest, maybe. All the time starts to paint a picture. And it ain't a pretty picture.
Don't disenfranchise your players. Combat should make your players feel like they've contributed to a successful team. Combat should not be so unbalanced that the players can't possibly win, no matter what, unless your favorite high level npc fights the battle for them. Watching the DM roll dice with themself for an hour is NOT FUN for players. Traps should not have such a high DC that your players only have a 10% chance to survive them. At least not all the time.
Don't take away your players' favorite abilities or items. If you, for example, give your players a heroes feast potion, dont have an improbably high level enemy show up and immediately dispell it. If they win a magic weapon from an enemy thru a successful encounter, don't have that enemy run away, then come back next session, improbably more powerful, and take the item back.
Don't deny magic weapons to your players and then pit them against monsters immune/resistant against mundane dmg.
If your players, in character, devise reasoned and logical arguments to persuade their way out of a situation, don't stonewall them. At least give them a roll.
Don't make your players roll for deception if they give someone they've never met a fake name. Or, if you do, make the DC 1 or 2. That npc has absolutely no reason to think that person is lying. If I meet some one on the street, and they say ' my names jim,' I'm gonna say 'hi jim.' NOT 'hmmm, u must be lying.' That would be DM metagaming. Or be perceived as such.
Don't whammy ur players with a trap that nearly wipes them out, then roll your eyes if they then proceed to be over cautious and check for traps every 5 feet.
All hypothetically. Of course.
My DM makes this mistake frequently: He builds an encounter that will be challenging based on how he thinks the party will behave. If the party changes behavior, he doesn't adjust to keep it challenging and it either becomes completely overpowering and deadly or a total cakewalk.
Example 1: He true-killed 3 party members and knocked a 4th into death saves with a lightning bolt against a party of 5 lvl 2s on the 1st real round of combat (we got a semi-surprise round). When we tried to explain that a lightning bolt spell was inappropriate against a party of lvl 2s, he explained that he thought we would listen to the villain exposition instead of trying to get a surprise round, thought we would all spread out around him rather than trying to take cover in various areas leading up towards him (that all happened to be in a line), that he thought the druid would've wildshaped into a bear instead of a panther so would have more hp, and that we wouldn't have done as much damage to him as quickly as we did so he wouldn't have used it until the end of the fight instead of at the beginning of it.
Example 2: He set up an encounter designed for us to need to be "saved" by the town guard he had arriving in 3 rounds. He planned for us to each go investigate the disappearance of a party member one by one where the enemy could pick them off. Instead, we went out as a group, found the enemy, engaged them normally, our bard used a sleep spell to knock three of them out right away, a couple of lucky crits, and the entire group of enemies including their boss was either dead or subdued within 2 rounds and the town guard walked up to find us interrogating one enemy and looting the others.
Be prepared to change your tactics and what you plan to do based on what the party does. Any party will ruin all of your plans in a single round, so be loose with the plans and be prepared to improvise.
These examples are a good way of illustrating the problem with the collaborative story-telling idea from the DM's perspective. Everyone round the table is creating a story together, but only one person has a plan for where they expect that story to go - the DM. As others have said, using a branching structure and improvising on the spot can help guide the story, but ultimately it's up to your party as to what happens next. Any DM who plans a series of causes and effects to the level of detail described above is bound to run into problems pretty fast.
Besides, one of the most funny things is when the players find a mistake and the DM tries to find a creative explanation for it.
Thank you very much everyone for the replies to Magerage's question. Our group is finishing a homebrew campaign soon and will pick up SKT in about a month with myself as a virgin DM. I hope they go gentle on me. To prepare for this I've also found some really solid advice on DM'ing and running the game on youtube. Also watching streams of groups who play online like Vox Machina is teaching me a lot.
Not sure if it's against the forum guidelines to post links to youtube content or not but a simple search on there should provide a treasure trove of information about running the game and how not to run the game.
JT " You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
It's already been said but bears repeating, especially with so many folks rushing in with their own opinion on the matter, the biggest mistake a new Dungeon Master can make is taking the whole thing too seriously and / or putting too much pressure on themselves to not make mistakes. The best thing you can do, in DM'ing or any other pursuit, is relax and take it all in stride. Seek advice, certainly, but then take it all in stride and let the advice sink in (or out) gradually over time.
Second, know the basic rules as well as you reasonably can. But again, don't over-stress it.
Third, definitely realize your role is to set the stage, not, as others have pointed out, to be the adversary of the players.
Fourth, if you have time and interest, give Matt Colville a look and listen. He's got an excellent series on "running the game" for beginners:
Matt Colville: Running the Game Intro
I don't know if it has been said but don't take what you see on popular DnD shows are the normal. Not everyone is an experienced actor or voice-actor so don't worry about being at good or your sessions don't turn out how you had hoped, its ok if you make a mistakes or get something wrong. just stick with it.