I wasn't exactly sure where to put this, since it's a few questions I guess? A friend of mine has wanted me to be a guest in one of their groups for a while now, since I've wanted to give dnd a go. That sounds like fun, but I have trouble making a character (they said homebrew stuff was fine, but I could always check with the DM and make sure if i was nervous.) And at the same time, I've been told by several other people to be a DM myself and run a small campaign and start off that way. In that matter, i have a sort of idea for a campaign that's based off of a book I love, but I worry that it would be too complicated for me, and/or too simple for the people who have been doing this a while.
So I guess my questions are:
Should I make a character and be a guest, or try my hand at being a DM for a small/short campaign?
If i should be a guest, is it okay to go with homebrew stuff, or should i stick with simpler things?
If i should try my hand at DMing, what's the best way to go about it, as a first-timer?
Welcome to the game! If you've never done anything D&D related you should definitely start as a player first and go with no homebrew. DMing and homebrew options can always come later and will probably just serve to confuse you if you start with it, especially homebrew.
My recommendation would be to gravitate towards one of the more martial classes for your first character as they're easier to grasp, but it is by no means an absolute.
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Lightning Strike - A rebranded Fire Bolt for Wizards & Sorcerers.
Spirit Bomb - A holy fireball for Clerics, Paladins, & Divine Soul Sorcerers!
Sword Dancer - A Cleric subclass specifically for the Drow goddess Eilistraee.
You are invited as a guest and new player to a group with players with experience of DnD already so definately they are not expecting you to be a DM at least on first game session.
I myself started the game by DMing and in retrospective i have to say i would have liked to experience it as a player first. DMing just IS very challanging. There is a lot to do and to keep in mind/be aware of. Im not saying its not fun, but its a lot of work and i think its easier if you already have a good grasp of the basic things.
Homebrew is something i dont have a lot of experience with but i am now at my 11th session (4-5 hours each) and am still strugling with things that are in the basic rules so id say implementing homebrew stuff is something thats better to do with more experience since its easier to estimate if the stuff you put in the wont be broken or completely useless at a later stage of the campaign.
Thanks guys! This really helped a lot, at least to narrow things down a lot more since it kinda felt like my brain was running 20 tabs at the same time lol. I'll keep all this in mind!
Welcome to the game! If you've never done anything D&D related you should definitely start as a player first and go with no homebrew. DMing and homebrew options can always come later and will probably just serve to confuse you if you start with it, especially homebrew.
THIS!
Although remember: There are just as many styles of DM'ing as there are DMs. You don't need to try to duplicate the style of the DM you play with, find your own! Being a player is a great way to develop your DM-skills. Copy what you like and think works, change and improve what you don't like and don't. think. works :-)
Welcome to the game! If you've never done anything D&D related you should definitely start as a player first and go with no homebrew. DMing and homebrew options can always come later and will probably just serve to confuse you if you start with it, especially homebrew.
THIS!
Although remember: There are just as many styles of DM'ing as there are DMs. You don't need to try to duplicate the style of the DM you play with, find your own! Being a player is a great way to develop your DM-skills. Copy what you like and think works, change and improve what you don't like and don't. think. works :-)
And welcome to the game :-)
The friend who invited me as a guest has also recommended i play as a DM and (to quote) "try and wrangle all the gremlins." She has also offered to put me in contact with one of her DM's, and said they'd have no problem helping me. Which sounds like a good offer, talking to the different DMs she has for different groups, learning their ways and trying out my own. But again, I'm afraid that it'd be overwhelming for me and too simple for them, plus the idea of basing a run/campaign off of a book seems... Idk, cheaty? But I think what everyone has said is a good idea; play as a guest first and go from there
I would have tried out D&D as player first. Basically because that's a great way to learn the basics of the game (when and how to roll the dice etc). And I doesn't mean that you have to play a lot of sessions, but when I play a new system, I always find it helpful if I've tried it as a player first.
I'm a little uncertain what you mean with homebrew. I thought you meant home made rules (that is additions to the "standard" rules). I would not recommend to start out doing that before you have learned and "used" the rules as they are written. In fact I would recommend you start using only the rules you find "essential" and spend your first sessions as a DM learning the rules (no one should expect you know them all on your first session).
If with homebrew you mean wether to play a pre written adventure/campaign or design your own, I'm in the camp that would say: make your own! I know a lot of people would recommend you to start with something prewritten, but I'm not one of those :-)
And it's absolutely nothing wrong. with basing a campaign on a book. However, if you're "caught" just be honest about it. The "cheaty" part just comes into play if you deny. "credit" to where you got your inspiration if. somebody asks (most. of the time they won't).
I would have tried out D&D as player first. Basically because that's a great way to learn the basics of the game (when and how to roll the dice etc). And I doesn't mean that you have to play a lot of sessions, but when I play a new system, I always find it helpful if I've tried it as a player first.
I'm a little uncertain what you mean with homebrew. I thought you meant home made rules (that is additions to the "standard" rules). I would not recommend to start out doing that before you have learned and "used" the rules as they are written. In fact I would recommend you start using only the rules you find "essential" and spend your first sessions as a DM learning the rules (no one should expect you know them all on your first session).
If with homebrew you mean wether to play a pre written adventure/campaign or design your own, I'm in the camp that would say: make your own! I know a lot of people would recommend you to start with something prewritten, but I'm not one of those :-)
And it's absolutely nothing wrong. with basing a campaign on a book. However, if you're "caught" just be honest about it. The "cheaty" part just comes into play if you deny. "credit" to where you got your inspiration if. somebody asks (most. of the time they won't).
Again, best of luck :-)
The homebrew i was referring to was like.. fan-made races, as someone made an Eastern dragonborn race that really caught my eye. I've been told to run pre-made campaigns and that sounds like a good idea, but I love the premise of Dragon Egg by sarah thomson (which is basically just two children being tasked with taken a dragon egg to a far away place for it to hatch, when true giant dragons were thought to be extinct) and think it'd be a fun thing to run.
I think I'll start out as a player though, and keep that idea tucked in a folder for if/when i decide to try DMing. Though.. i still need to collect the necessary supplies, dice and such, since i don't have anything and I don't really want to rely on dice rolling apps like my friend has suggested
Thanks for all the advice :)
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I wasn't exactly sure where to put this, since it's a few questions I guess? A friend of mine has wanted me to be a guest in one of their groups for a while now, since I've wanted to give dnd a go. That sounds like fun, but I have trouble making a character (they said homebrew stuff was fine, but I could always check with the DM and make sure if i was nervous.) And at the same time, I've been told by several other people to be a DM myself and run a small campaign and start off that way. In that matter, i have a sort of idea for a campaign that's based off of a book I love, but I worry that it would be too complicated for me, and/or too simple for the people who have been doing this a while.
So I guess my questions are:
Should I make a character and be a guest, or try my hand at being a DM for a small/short campaign?
If i should be a guest, is it okay to go with homebrew stuff, or should i stick with simpler things?
If i should try my hand at DMing, what's the best way to go about it, as a first-timer?
Welcome to the game! If you've never done anything D&D related you should definitely start as a player first and go with no homebrew. DMing and homebrew options can always come later and will probably just serve to confuse you if you start with it, especially homebrew.
My recommendation would be to gravitate towards one of the more martial classes for your first character as they're easier to grasp, but it is by no means an absolute.
Lightning Strike - A rebranded Fire Bolt for Wizards & Sorcerers.
Spirit Bomb - A holy fireball for Clerics, Paladins, & Divine Soul Sorcerers!
Sword Dancer - A Cleric subclass specifically for the Drow goddess Eilistraee.
Quicksilver & The Scarlet Witch - A pair of magical firearms for your Gunslinger or Artificer.
You are invited as a guest and new player to a group with players with experience of DnD already so definately they are not expecting you to be a DM at least on first game session.
I myself started the game by DMing and in retrospective i have to say i would have liked to experience it as a player first. DMing just IS very challanging. There is a lot to do and to keep in mind/be aware of. Im not saying its not fun, but its a lot of work and i think its easier if you already have a good grasp of the basic things.
Homebrew is something i dont have a lot of experience with but i am now at my 11th session (4-5 hours each) and am still strugling with things that are in the basic rules so id say implementing homebrew stuff is something thats better to do with more experience since its easier to estimate if the stuff you put in the wont be broken or completely useless at a later stage of the campaign.
hope that helped ^^'
Thanks guys! This really helped a lot, at least to narrow things down a lot more since it kinda felt like my brain was running 20 tabs at the same time lol. I'll keep all this in mind!
THIS!
Although remember: There are just as many styles of DM'ing as there are DMs. You don't need to try to duplicate the style of the DM you play with, find your own! Being a player is a great way to develop your DM-skills. Copy what you like and think works, change and improve what you don't like and don't. think. works :-)
And welcome to the game :-)
Ludo ergo sum!
The friend who invited me as a guest has also recommended i play as a DM and (to quote) "try and wrangle all the gremlins." She has also offered to put me in contact with one of her DM's, and said they'd have no problem helping me. Which sounds like a good offer, talking to the different DMs she has for different groups, learning their ways and trying out my own. But again, I'm afraid that it'd be overwhelming for me and too simple for them, plus the idea of basing a run/campaign off of a book seems... Idk, cheaty? But I think what everyone has said is a good idea; play as a guest first and go from there
I would have tried out D&D as player first. Basically because that's a great way to learn the basics of the game (when and how to roll the dice etc). And I doesn't mean that you have to play a lot of sessions, but when I play a new system, I always find it helpful if I've tried it as a player first.
I'm a little uncertain what you mean with homebrew. I thought you meant home made rules (that is additions to the "standard" rules). I would not recommend to start out doing that before you have learned and "used" the rules as they are written. In fact I would recommend you start using only the rules you find "essential" and spend your first sessions as a DM learning the rules (no one should expect you know them all on your first session).
If with homebrew you mean wether to play a pre written adventure/campaign or design your own, I'm in the camp that would say: make your own! I know a lot of people would recommend you to start with something prewritten, but I'm not one of those :-)
And it's absolutely nothing wrong. with basing a campaign on a book. However, if you're "caught" just be honest about it. The "cheaty" part just comes into play if you deny. "credit" to where you got your inspiration if. somebody asks (most. of the time they won't).
Again, best of luck :-)
Ludo ergo sum!
The homebrew i was referring to was like.. fan-made races, as someone made an Eastern dragonborn race that really caught my eye. I've been told to run pre-made campaigns and that sounds like a good idea, but I love the premise of Dragon Egg by sarah thomson (which is basically just two children being tasked with taken a dragon egg to a far away place for it to hatch, when true giant dragons were thought to be extinct) and think it'd be a fun thing to run.
I think I'll start out as a player though, and keep that idea tucked in a folder for if/when i decide to try DMing. Though.. i still need to collect the necessary supplies, dice and such, since i don't have anything and I don't really want to rely on dice rolling apps like my friend has suggested
Thanks for all the advice :)