General Discussion

Oh boy.

I may or may not have set myself to DM a future game of Dungeons and Dragons with my best friend and whoever we can get together. I told her I was willing to DM, unless someone with more experience offered to DM. The thing is, I've never been a DM before. I desperately need some tips going into this.

This campaign would probably be a homebrew one, with low level characters and players that are unfamiliar with the game!

Any and all tips are appreciated, even ones that I can give to the players!

Edit: I guess it's worth stating that I am not doing a campaign 100% from scratch, but I am doing the plot, setting, npcs, etc. from scratch.

Hi!

I'm a new DM too so I'm always on the hunt for advice but I figured I'd show you some of the stuff I've collected to help out. (I haven't run my first campaign yet, working on setting up a one-shot for practice). I dunno if any of this will help, it's just stuff I've picked up through lots of reading and scouring the internet, and I like helping!

-It helps a lot to be kinda familiar with whatever edition you use. It's not like CRITICAL but it'll help so you can look over your player's sheets for errors and also general rule know how. (I once had a DM try to tell me my sheet was wrong cause I was adding my dex mod to my weapon, which was finesse and could use either str or dex. It's little finicky things like that that are helpful to know.)

-Improvisation is your friend! You're gonna have a lot of times where your player says they wanna do a thing you're just not prepared for. That's why when I write my notes I tend to leave things fairly open ended. As an example, my notes for my first arc are basically a quick summary of what I want to happen without specific details--I have certain events I want to happen and how they happen can be narrowed down.

-While narrowing down my general ideas, I've used bullet points in order to list various events or things that should happen. IE Players find Item, Item is a Clue, Clue leads to Boss, etc. The specifics can be improvised and are left flexible because your players may go from Player finds Item to Players find Boss, or they may just go straight to the boss.

-I keep this idea in mind a lot. A quick summary is basically for every event you want to happen, come up with three leads to it. For example, say your players are trying to find a wolf that killed a villager. You want three clues leading to the wolf--say, a series of tracks, a different villager who saw the general direction it went, and a hunting dog that will follow its scent. That way, you have 3 different leads your players may follow, as they may not notice the tracks, and they may miss the villager, but they may have the dog lead the way. This way, they've got 3 different ways to find what they need, meaning if they miss a clue, they won't be stuck.

-Collect references. Hoard references. I have an entire section in my DM documents devoted to helpful links.

-Write down EVERYTHING. Keep it in one place. Again, I have a google docs folder that has in it:

-The 'player handbook lite' for my world, as it's a custom world with homebrew races.
-Spreadsheet on the deities in my world and the domains/titles/alignments/etc
-Stats for important NPCs I'm gonna need in the future
-A collection of my actual notes, which in it has my plot in its whole, the breakdown of arcs, the breakdown of each event in the arcs, some ideas to explore in the future for encounters, and info about key NPCs I'll need.

-Base line, tl;dr. etc: The Best Laid Plans of DMs never survive player interaction. Be flexible. Plan things, but keep them flexible enough that when your players inevitably decide they wanna heckle the random NPC instead of the important NPC that will lead your plot onwards, they won't be permanently stuck.

Aaaand some links that I've hoarded that seem handy:

Encounter builder
PDF of the Dungeon Master's Guide
Site that had a bunch of handy DM tips

@Carnifex

Holllllllllllllllly cow.

Thank you so so so much for all of that!! Everything you listed there is incredibly useful, and thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction. The three clue thing seems to be especially helpful and one I'll most certainly have to keep in mind, thank you so much!! You've been a great help to me today.

(Btw I love your Monster Factory reference :D)

@Pyrouge

No problem, glad to help haha! Yeah, I feel you, that three clue thing is SUPER handy one of the biggest things I've learned that seem super helpful for DMing stuff.

(Hahah thank you! I'm listening to MBMBAM as I type whoops)

@Pyrouge Long time player here... recent DM. Don't have many tips, but I'll put down what I can think of. [b]D M T i p s :[/b] [quote]NEVER expect something to happen the way you think it will. As a DM, always always ALWAYS prepare for things to go differently from how you planned. Whether it's from players ignoring or accidentally circumventing a plot hook to players suddenly pulling a crazy idea out of nowhere, D&D is full of surprises as a DM. You can definitely have a plan for how the super-plot-important bandit leader is going to steal a carriage and escape with all the gold so you have a recurring villain. Just be prepared for someone to roll a nat 20 to eldritch blast the horse that was pulling the carriage.[/quote] [quote]If your players are really interested in the roleplaying aspects of D&D, be sure to work with them on their backstories and tie them into the game as best as you can. Maybe not at lower levels (depending on your players and you), but be sure to at some point go through their character arc's plot hook. Finally tying up loose ends from a backstory is so satisfying and it'll make them feel like they're making progress in the world and in their character.[/quote] [quote]If you want to build tension, let a player do something they feel is risky, and proceed to roll a few times (preferably behind a DM screen or a notebook or whatever if possible) more than you need to. For example, the party hears strange sounds in the cavern, so the rogue stealths ahead. Roll once to see if the bandit waiting in ambush sees the rogue. Then roll two more times for no reason and refuse to tell them why if they ask. It's cheap, but heck if it doesn't put a party on edge reaaal quick.[/quote] [quote]Have a session zero if possible. Have everyone be very vocal about what kind of character they're creating and keep them informed about the kind of game you're looking to run and ask them what kind of game they want to play. For example, I always take a moment to remind new players at my game of my personal golden rule - respect my world, and it will respect you - that's as much as to say, I put a lot of work into the world and characters within the world. It's entirely within the realm of possibility for you as a player to exercise your right to do whatever you want, but just keep in mind that there are consequences to your actions. If an NPC is greeting the party to a town and someone decides to just off him for no other reason than the fact that they wanted to, there will be consequences. That being said, that's not how everyone DMs and that's not necessarily how every player wants to play. You might enjoy the crazy escapades the party gets into after a player decides to do something completely out of nowhere for no reason. Whatever the case, just make sure all of this is out in the open before you start, or you'll end up with some players that wants a lighthearted Monty Python-esque adventure while the others were looking for something dark and realistic.[/quote] [quote]Don't be afraid to interpret failed checks differently. Getting a 10 on your investigation check when the DC was 15 is definitely a failure, but if it's important to the plot for them to find this thing, don't be afraid to just say that it took the PC a lot LONGER to find the important thing rather than they could not find it at all. Doesn't work for everything, but I've noticed DMs do this and felt it was a good tip - often to be used when the entire party somehow fails a check.[/quote] [quote]Do your best to have patience. It may not save you but it will help. Patience and quick thinking help so much.[/quote] [quote]If your players ever do something so incredibly plot derailing (even in a good way) to where the plot is pushed entirely off course into territory you never planned for because you didn't think you'd have to, call for a break. Let people get snacks and refreshments and go to the bathroom and whatnot for a few minutes. It gives you time to jot down a new course of action, quickly formulate some ideas, and so on so you're not improvising everything as they move through the new area. For example, let's say during a gnoll ambush, one of the characters gets knocked unconscious and the others are very low on health due to bad rolls or bad decisions and decide to run away while they still can. Have the gnolls carry the unconscious member away, call for a break, and start drafting a way for the character to escape (possibly with the help of friends or alone) or maybe even a way to get the gnoll pack leader to strike a deal with them - their friend if they can destroy a rival gnoll pack. Sometimes interesting scenarios can come from the most unexpected scenarios. Maybe tie it in with someone's backstory. Maybe someone's town was destroyed by gnolls, so you make the gnoll pack that did so be the pack that you strike a deal to eradicate in return for your friend's life, or, for added tension, make it be the pack you are striking a deal with, and see what happens. Or maybe the escaping character finds a long lost trinket of their passed mother's amongst the treasure hoard as they pass. Or you know, just use the time to let the player make a new character.[/quote] [quote]Don't be afraid of cliches. Yes the 'all the PCs meet at a tavern' thing is way overdone, but it's often a quick and easy way to get everyone in the same room. Introduce a plot hook while there and hopefully the magic will happen on its own. If you want to avoid the cliches, here's two other methods: 1. Just say they've been adventuring for a while together already. It removes about 20 minutes of awkwardly trying to force the party together, but it also gets rid of any actual experience of all these characters meeting for the first time. 2. Choose a player you trust or a player with an appropriate character. Give them a specific quest that works into their backstory if they have one and requires others for it to work. This one may sound weird, but I took it from another person's campaign (Matt Colville) where it worked beautifully. In his campaign, a wizard friend of a PC gave him a very plot-important shield (that he needed to transport to another kingdom, I believe). The PC was given specific instructions by the wizard to go somewhere within the town and hire a bunch of ragtag nobodies to help him in this task, as transporting the shield with renowned heroes and/or royal guards would draw too much attention and the shield would be stolen. And so, you now have an important item, a reason for a ragtag group of adventurers, as well as a plot hook. Another example is one of my own experience as a player - my brother's character was on a mission to recover his land and title after his father was killed in dishonorable combat and the winner took almost everything he owned. In order to accomplish this, with what funds he had left, he hired the rest of the PC cast, and in helping him, we are each furthering our own character arc, such as my character striking a deal with him that he would use his regained status to convince a noble in my home country to drop the fine on my head so I could return to my sister.[/quote] [quote]Write everything down. Both for mechanical as well as roleplay reasons. Mechanically it keeps everything from being confusing to return to. Roleplay wise, it's a bit of an immersion-breaking experience when the world is confused about itself, so to speak. Being a DM is a lot like running a play and grabbing people from the audience to be a part of it. They know it isn't real, but the actors are acting like it is and it's nice to play along. If the actors are suddenly breaking character and acting like it isn't real, the luster is lost for a few seconds. It isn't game breaking, but it definitely makes a case for keeping notes on characters and names and places and what happened wherever just so Randy the rancher isn't magically Robert the rancher until the players correct you or until you remember.[/quote] [quote]Watch DM tips videos. They won't prepare you for everything, but they will help. Matt Colville and Matthew Mercer come to mind.[/quote] [quote]Draw inspiration from wherever you want. Draw it from everywhere. Mix inspirations. Pull inspiration from your favorite books, TV shows, movies, games, real life, whatever you want. Put the PCs in a moving city like Zodanga from John Carter and make them escape the city while running from the Xenomorphs from Alien. Have an evil magical item they need to take to a volcano to destroy like this is Lord of the Rings but have the main BBEG be an Emporer like in Flight Rising. Do crazy things. Sometimes you'll come up with something amazing.[/quote] [b]P l a y e r T i p s :[/b] [quote]For streamlining purposes, if possible, make a 'cheat sheet' for your character. For example, if I'm playing a ranger, I grab a note card and write down Initiative: 1d20+(dex modifier) Longbow: 1d20+(modifier) 1d20+(modifier) piercing damage Shortsword: 1d20+(modifier) 1d20+(modifier) slashing damage Spells: Cure Wounds: 1d8+(modifier) And so on. Put anything down you can think of that you would need at a moment's notice, such as weapons and any potions things (like how much they heal or how much damage they do) and all that stuff.[/quote] I feel like I have more, but I just can't think of them right now. Best tip of all is to just have fun, I suppose. Hope all goes well!

Never DM'd but I've been building a campaign to start maybe building a group to play with.

I am however a fan of a few nerdy *** voice actors who roll dice and play dungeons and dragons.

This is probably really standard fare but watching Critical Role and listening to Matthew Mercer's DM/GM Tips videos always gives me great ideas to use and how to prepare for a session.

GM Tips with Matthew Mercer

I hope they help you in your game as a resource!

Always remember, no matter how well you plan your sessions your players will always, always find some way to take the adventure completely off the rails.

Also...yes Critical Role is love, Critical Role is life

Games are gonna be veeerrryyy slow going until you start to memorize things. I've been playing for 6 years and I still have trouble memorizing rules and stuff - then again, our group jumps around a lot. Pathfinder, Shadow Run, D&D, Burning Wheel, Mouseguard, CoC..
Like I said, just give it time and games go faster as you all learn!

It's easy to get the idea that the role of a DM is just to tell a compelling story.

It's also to help your players have fun! In fact, I'd say fun >> story, though others may disagree.

Never get stuck into the "me vs. them" mindset, unless that's really what your players want (sometimes experienced folk want to be thrown a challenge). Things you spent hours crafting will be thrown to the wayside, things you never intended to pique interest will become the central focus of the party. Ultimately you're not telling a story your players move through so much as you're telling a story alongside your players, or even (in the case of a fully-improvised campaign) just providing a framework to help them tell their own story. Once you become comfortable with that idea, it's much easier and less stressful when everything goes bottoms-up.

Also, be honest with your players. It's your first time! You'll make mistakes! You don't need to rag on yourself, but a quick "Alright folks, be patient with me" can help tear down any potential first-session DM-is-an-authority awkwardness.