| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| #1XenodudeOct 25, 2014 9:35:22 | Hey there guys and gals! Im thinking about being the DM for a group of friends that want to start playing. Thing is ive only played one D&D adventure before a couple of years back.
I was wondering if some you could point me in the right direction.
Ive already read the players handbook and im halfway through the MM. To be honest, I dont know if I should be a DM with my little experience, but I seriously doubt someone else will do it.
Any help is gladly appreciated!! |
| #2iserithOct 25, 2014 9:41:04 |
The links in my signature may be of use to you as well. If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask! |
| (Reply to #2)Xenodude | Awesome!! Thank you. I'll definitely be asking some questions later on. |
| #4DrycanthOct 25, 2014 10:54:39 | On a basic level there are only a few things you need to do to be ready to DM.
1. be fermilial with the rules. This means that you shoud have an idea of how the rules work. be able to set DC's and call for the apropriate checks with out looking in the book every time.
2. make the call and move the game forward. when a situation comes up and you need to make a choice on what happens make that choice and just keep the game going. Don't stop the game to look up every nuance of how the rules work just make the call and go forward.
3. be consistant. if you make a call for a situation use that same choice when faced with similar instances. Yes you should modify the DC's based on the events but do not change the type of DC. If you use Strength to climb when making a climb on an icey wall set a higher DC and make the same Strength based roll.
4. dont argue with the players. if you make a decision and it offends a player let them explain why they don't like what you decided. But don't let them change your mind. Its your call. Right or wrong you have final say in the rules. It is not a democracy you are the DM. Your job is to make that call.
5. learn from your mistakes. You will make mistakes and have calls that you use that run against the rules of the game. Once you see where you made a mistake learn from that mistake. Eithor use the rule or stick to your decision as a new house rule. Neithor is wrong.
6. when players ruin your plans roll with the situation. No matter what you come up with some player will do something you did not think of. Use the rules set the DC and let the dice gods decide. If they destroy your pre planed boss battle and make it look like a weak chump. Don't screw them over let them have the win. They earned it with thinking you did not see coming.
7. Have fun. This is the big one. Make sure that you and your players are having fun. You should have fun by playing the NPC's and describing the situations. They should have fun by playing in the environment you create and interacting with the world you present. It is never about you fighting the players. You are the world not the enemy. You present the chalange and situaitons for the players. Not at the players. It is colaberation not adversarial.
|
| #5ReiusOct 25, 2014 14:58:50 | Say "yes" as much as possible. Encourage anything that excites the players. Prepare for the unexpected. Also, it's not as hard as it looks.
Check out the Dungeon World GM section. The PF GameMastery Guide is pretty good and articles by Chris Perkins. The 4e DMG2 has some good stuff, also. Consider looking at the 5e Starter Set, too -- apparently its supposed to be for beginning DMs more than the players.
With respect to the rules and stuff: make sure you feel comfortable with the game, but don't be afraid to depend on your players for keeping things straight. There's nothing wrong with asking how something works and often the players know the rules better than you, anyway. They don't have as much to worry about around the table, either.
|
| #6NoonOct 27, 2014 1:39:09 | Have the players make goals for their PC's. Tell them the start of play involves them saying how their PC goes about getting their goals.
Just sort of 'follow' the players, trying to make up stuff as you go.
Don't try to delay the achieving of the goal or anything (or do so very little). If it'd be achieved in a short time (ie, a session or three), that's how it is - the player can make up a new goal or a new PC with a new goal.
Make sure XP/gold gaining situations are frequently available whereever they go (make up a list of possible xp/gold gaining encounters that could happen anywhere) |
| #7TherosOct 27, 2014 5:10:12 | My suggestion would be to use a module. Hoard of the Dragon Queen is a great module for 5e and can teach you how to design 5e encounters. There's enough wiggle room to insert your own spin on the story once you get comfortable.
Like Drycanth said above your best bet is to know the rules. Feel free to use your players to look them up during the game.
I know there's a few people on the boards that will say focus on the story first but I’ve found its more important to get used to the nuts and bolts of game mechanics first. The roleplaying and fun will happen naturally. |
| #8AnsbachOct 27, 2014 5:43:37 | This should be a must read for all GMs:
Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering
By far the most important aspect of being a good GM is to focus on the fun. That boils down to two things: 1.) know what is fun for your players (because individual players can have a wide range of preferences on what is fun to them), and 2.) keep the game moving forward at a good pace.
Pretty much every "rule" you can find on good GMing is focused on one of the two goals above. A brand new GM who knows what his players like and is keeping the game moving forward is doing an infiintely better job than an experienced GM who is letting the game bog down or who is just focused on his own version of fun. |
| #9XenodudeOct 27, 2014 8:56:42 | Thank you so much for all the input! It has been extremely helpful. I have already purchased the starter set, and am thinking of buying Hoard of the Dragon Queen. With all of the above things in mind I now have a few questions to ask.
Every single one of the players are good friends with whom I have played a good amount of diffrent games, ranging from Consoles to Boardgames. So I know them pretty well, personality wise etc etc.
1) Should I sit down with each of them (lets call it a pre-session) to help them create their characters and just get the general feel of what each of them want?
My idea here is to get a little understanding of how my/their adventures should unravel/develop. This way I can give a good boost to the adventure from the get-go.
2) Since the starter set comes with pre-rolled characters, can I change these to the ones the players will create? Can I continue the adventure with Hoard of the dragon queen?
I dont plan on using the premades for too long, but just long enough until we all get a hold on basic rules of D&D. |
| #10iserithOct 27, 2014 9:01:15 |
|
| #11bawylieOct 27, 2014 9:00:50 | 1.) Maybe. If they're game for that then yes. But keep in mind that being new to this, they might not know what they want - and what they think they want may change after exposure.
2.) Start with the pregens and complete the starter set adventure. Learn to walk before you run. Learn to get up when you fall. You've got to figure out stuff like saves and checks and initiative and combat. It's a lot to do without worrying about alt classes, feats, and gods and whatever else. Nobody starts as a master. But if someone "gets it," then by all means, let them change it up. Yourself included. |
| (Reply to #11)Xenodude |
|
| #13bobcat13Oct 29, 2014 13:03:31 | As others have said I would go with the starter set and HOTDQ for starters or just good ideas on how to set up some things on your own...there are also lots of good sites for adventure hooks, dungeon set-up, trap ideas, and interesting item descriptions. |
| #14SynjinOct 29, 2014 13:35:48 | Welcome aboard!
If you buy a module or adventure (Starter Set, HotDQ, etc.), then spend a day or two familiarizing yourself with each chapter you'll be doing. Don't try and run it that night with you having never read the material. It'll just bog down the game.
Make a couple characters yourself and have them fight each other. Sounds silly, but it will familiarize you with Actions, Adv/Disadv., Saves, Skills, etc. My two younger kids spend about 30 minutes a day with their characters just fighting each other. Knowing what spells can do what, when to take what Actions, etc. is a huge benefit, and I can see their game play evolving exponentially each time we play. It used to be "I hit you! Now I hit you back!". Now they're strategizing, taking Actions and Bonus Actions to compliment their abilities. Using spells and abilities to give themselves Advantage, or the other guy Disadvantage. I can see it growing and their knowledge base increasing with each game we do actually play.
Understanding of the mechanics is crucial, but a good mindset is also key. You can know all the rules by heart in the book, but a DM can still be terrible if he has no creativity and doesn't let the players have fun. Say "Yes" more than "No" unless there's some serious reason something can't be done. Movies and book scenes inspire a lot of players (and DMs), so if someone wants to "do that cool thing like So & So did in that one movie" should be allowed. Might need to roll for it. Might not. But let them be creative and inspired.
Enjoy! |
| #15billeOct 29, 2014 15:03:51 | I have had mixed reactions using the pre-gens in Lost Mine of Phandelver (which is a superb adventure to start with). I thought it would be a great way to introduce my players to the new edition: getting them playing straight away, making the levelling decisions easy and getting them used to new features like bonds, flaws and traits - all great additions to the system. For two of the group (the wizard and the rogue) it worked really well because it got them playing character classes that would not have been their first choice and they absolutely love them - the wizard for the spellcasting, the rogue for the backstory - while the other three are a bit meh about theirs.
For these three not because they are playing classes they don't like, but because they had backgrounds forced upon them when they would have preferred to have worked it out for themselves. I was actually pleased in the end that they had this reaction - bodes well for the future. I considered starting again with new characters but the intention was always to end the run at the conclusion of Phandelver and start a new campaign in a different region of the Realms, leaving the current characters as NPCs or sleeping PCs if they survive. What I have done is let the players make their own levelling decisions rather than stick to the pre-gen scripts.
It certainly has not been enough to spoil the experience, they're all level 3 now and getting stuck into the Cragmaw contingent, but if I had my time again I would definitely have got them to roll up their own characters at the beginning while encouraging the inclusion of a few of the specific background features tying them to the campaign.
If you have the time to spend a session on character creation I would say it is time well spent. It's a great way to get a feeling for the rules and, more than anything, it gives the players real investment in the characters they play, especially if you work together to incorporate their backgrounds into the setting. It can be a bit of a hassle though if you have only the one Player's Handbook.
It doesn't matter how long you have played the game you often forget what's important, and I would say character creation is not the preamble to playing the game, but an essential part of the fun.
With regards using Hoard of the Dragon Queen as a starting adventure for new players I'm not sure I would recommend it. I think it is a fine adventure, but it can require some sophisticated on-the-fly DMing and the PCs have to make some very difficult decisions right from the off if they are going to survive their first night (or have a protective DM, which might not be the image you would like to foster). |
| (Reply to #15)Xenodude | Hey there! It's been about 40 days since I started this thread. Last night was our third session, 1st for character creation (Thanks Billie) 2nd and 3rd were normal play. I am running LMoP.
I basically wanted to ask for some more advice on the following things:
1. Most of the time they forget that they have to talk to some NPC's to find out exactly what they're supposed to do. Im guessing they're just rather shy and are getting use to the whole RPing idea.
2. Travel pace: They always forget to say at what pace they're travelling, so i started asking them. They forget alot less now.
3. Combat and adventuring: Havent knocked out one monster yet, no interrogations. During offdays i try to remind them(discretely) that they CAN do other things, like knocking something/someone out, making more of diffrent types of ability checks(history, inverstigation, survival, nature, insight, etc).
I know they are all new players so i tried to give them more than generous hints and at times i was basically, shoving them through the door to an npcs house(I let them think it was their idea, but boy was it hard to make them get to the frickin lady so they wouldn't miss her quest :P). Should i be doing this or should i just let them miss out on all the EXP and magic items?
Thanks again. |
| (Reply to #16)Rhenny |
|
| #18iserithNov 22, 2014 11:11:55 |
|
| #19NoonNov 22, 2014 13:27:31 |
|
| (Reply to #19)Xenodude |
|
| #21NoonNov 23, 2014 2:24:41 | Characters having backgrounds, whether it's interesting or not, doesn't mean they have life goals. They might have solved all their life goals in their background (in fact this is a rookie player mistake to make). Even something like 'The snake king killed my family and sold me into slavery - now he must die' is a life goal. Do they have anything like that, or is it background stuff like 'I was born in the heart of the upsidedown warp trees that grow on the belly of a skywhale'? Interesting, yes. Is it an impetus for the character to do anything? No. |