Lately, I've been wanting to try a game of D&D with my friends, but I have no experience myself. So I would like to ask for some help, tips, tricks and how I should start out with them.
If you have a suggestion, please reply, thank you.
If you have the required books already, I would suggest first sitting down with your friends and getting both a feel for the kind of game they want to play and maybe even get characters made in this group setting. This gives everyone a chance to get a feel for each-other and what sort of team dynamics they will have to work with before the game actually starts.
For the DM side of things, consider maybe looking into a published adventure module first before striking out on your own to build a whole world. If you do plan on building your own campaign from scratch, keep it simple and small in scope to start. Maybe base your group out of a small town that needs help dealing with some goblins or exploring a recently uncovered tomb nearby. For the first game, try to keep the monsters on the weaker end to give your players time to get a feel for their characters and how they function while you get a feel for how the action flows. Never let dice rolls stop the story from moving forward. If the party needs to know something to keep the adventure moving, give them that information. If they do a crap job finding said information, give it to them anyway, but mention that maybe it took longer or a complication arose. Either way, try to keep things moving.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I would actually warn against trying to craft your own adventure immediately. There are a lot of things that go into an adventure, from the mechanics of creatures, combat, and leveling, to the intricacies of plot, pacing and adjudication. As enticing as the idea may be, to write up that heroic epic, don't run it just yet.
Having the entire group run 3 or 4 different modules; Lost Mines, Storm King's Thunder, Curse of Strahd, and Tomb of Annihilation, for example, will give the players and the DM a larger scope of what the game offers. This will show a few different approaches to how an adventure can be put together, where there are issues with flow and plot development, what type of game you all prefer, and basic structure. You'll also get a feel for combat, encounter sizes and creation, the many different types of creatures available to D&D. Lastly it'll help understand character development, growth, leveling, and death. All of these things, and more, are the tools of the DM which, after playing a handful of modules, should give you all you need to start your path on creating your own adventure.
On a more mental level to answer your question: relax, laugh, and talk. Don't stress about the rules in the books too much, as you start out you'll make mistakes, learn and move on. There will be times when things don't go as expected; laugh it off, hit the rewind button, double check the book, whatever it is that's necessary, it's part of learning. Discuss the things that confuse you as DM and player, generally after the game and before you come here to the forum. Always remember this is a game, games are supposed to be fun. If you, or your players, aren't having fun then it's time to address the issue with the table. Lastly, you are the DM, no matter what the book says, no matter what the forums say, no matter what all the youtube and streamers say, you are the final authority on what happens in the adventures at your table.
Good luck, have fun, here's to many memorable adventures!
Do you have any D&D experience? Everyone I know has learned to play and DM by playing with more experienced players. Books and rules can come later
If you have no experience then I would recommend you find a group to play with on Reddit/lfg or Roll20.
Once you have some experience as a player then I would recommend starting as a DM with the Phandelver started module. I’ve read it and it’s a great module that is easy to like and run. Have the players use the premade characters to get started quickly
As a long shot you could learn how a game works from some podcasts and streams. Not the most popular ones but Total Party Kill or (I’ve just started) GodsFall as they show more normal DM and group abilities.
Hope that helps
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Lately, I've been wanting to try a game of D&D with my friends, but I have no experience myself. So I would like to ask for some help, tips, tricks and how I should start out with them.
If you have a suggestion, please reply, thank you.
If you have the required books already, I would suggest first sitting down with your friends and getting both a feel for the kind of game they want to play and maybe even get characters made in this group setting. This gives everyone a chance to get a feel for each-other and what sort of team dynamics they will have to work with before the game actually starts.
For the DM side of things, consider maybe looking into a published adventure module first before striking out on your own to build a whole world. If you do plan on building your own campaign from scratch, keep it simple and small in scope to start. Maybe base your group out of a small town that needs help dealing with some goblins or exploring a recently uncovered tomb nearby. For the first game, try to keep the monsters on the weaker end to give your players time to get a feel for their characters and how they function while you get a feel for how the action flows. Never let dice rolls stop the story from moving forward. If the party needs to know something to keep the adventure moving, give them that information. If they do a crap job finding said information, give it to them anyway, but mention that maybe it took longer or a complication arose. Either way, try to keep things moving.
I would actually warn against trying to craft your own adventure immediately. There are a lot of things that go into an adventure, from the mechanics of creatures, combat, and leveling, to the intricacies of plot, pacing and adjudication. As enticing as the idea may be, to write up that heroic epic, don't run it just yet.
Having the entire group run 3 or 4 different modules; Lost Mines, Storm King's Thunder, Curse of Strahd, and Tomb of Annihilation, for example, will give the players and the DM a larger scope of what the game offers. This will show a few different approaches to how an adventure can be put together, where there are issues with flow and plot development, what type of game you all prefer, and basic structure. You'll also get a feel for combat, encounter sizes and creation, the many different types of creatures available to D&D. Lastly it'll help understand character development, growth, leveling, and death. All of these things, and more, are the tools of the DM which, after playing a handful of modules, should give you all you need to start your path on creating your own adventure.
On a more mental level to answer your question: relax, laugh, and talk. Don't stress about the rules in the books too much, as you start out you'll make mistakes, learn and move on. There will be times when things don't go as expected; laugh it off, hit the rewind button, double check the book, whatever it is that's necessary, it's part of learning. Discuss the things that confuse you as DM and player, generally after the game and before you come here to the forum. Always remember this is a game, games are supposed to be fun. If you, or your players, aren't having fun then it's time to address the issue with the table. Lastly, you are the DM, no matter what the book says, no matter what the forums say, no matter what all the youtube and streamers say, you are the final authority on what happens in the adventures at your table.
Good luck, have fun, here's to many memorable adventures!
Do you have any D&D experience? Everyone I know has learned to play and DM by playing with more experienced players. Books and rules can come later
If you have no experience then I would recommend you find a group to play with on Reddit/lfg or Roll20.
Once you have some experience as a player then I would recommend starting as a DM with the Phandelver started module. I’ve read it and it’s a great module that is easy to like and run. Have the players use the premade characters to get started quickly
As a long shot you could learn how a game works from some podcasts and streams. Not the most popular ones but Total Party Kill or (I’ve just started) GodsFall as they show more normal DM and group abilities.
Hope that helps