Hi all,
I am totally new to this and some of you have replied to my other thread already.
So I have bought the starter set for me and 3 friends for xmas. I have kind of therefor landed myself as the DM for at least the first time. As none of us have ever played D&D before I was hoping for some tips on how to make it fun for the first time and so they can learn to be a good DM also. I am hoping that makes some sense.
We are all in our 30's and have been playing online games since 96, Quake, 2 , and 3, CS, Dawn of War, Battlefield 3-4, etc etc. So we all know how to play games properly but this as always seemed like a complicated game although I am sure its not.
So basically, help lol
Thanks all
See all the links listed for DMs in my signature. Check out all the ones for players as well. Consider sharing them with your players.
The basic conversation of the game in the Basic Rules, page 3 is really the key. Put it in front of you and refer to it until you get into the flow by habit. Describe the environment. Ask the players what they do. Players describe what they want to do. Then you narrate the results of their actions. Sometimes, you can ask for an ability check, attack roll, or the like to resolve uncertainty if the outcome of what they said they wanted to do is in doubt. If you're going to apply the rules to a situation (and you most certainly do not have to), do so in a way that is as fair and consistent as possible.
Remember your two main goals (see page 2, Basic Rules): Have a good time and create an exciting, memorable story. Everything you do should be in service to those goals.
The rest comes down to flourish and setting up good situations. Flourish is about your descriptive style and your game pacing. Is it flowery or pithy language? Is the pace of your game fast or slow? These are things you'll figure out along the way.
Read a lot. Fantasy books, blogs, and productive threads on roleplaying game forums. You'll find a lot of good inspiration in these sources.
Ah thanks 
I strongly suggest DM101 (I wrote it, and it's aimed right at you). Link in my sig.
But straight off, learn the fundamental mechanics of how this game works.
Dm describes scenario & asks players what they do.
Players describe what they want to do and how they try to make it happen (it's important that you know both).
DM says* what happens as a result, reframing scenario, and asking what the players do.
*If you don't know what happens next, then we turn to the dice to find out. But in many cases, you may know what will happen. If so, don't ask for an ability check and don't have anyone roll dice, just say what happens. You don't roll dice for everything, only for those things that are uncertain. Certainty itself is situationally variable in that what's easy to do becomes harder in extenuating circumstances. Rely on your judgment.
If you have further questions, we're all here to see you succeed.
Be tough but fair.
A good visual/video source that I highly recommend is actual game play by a group of employees from WotC who played through the first part of the Starter Set and posted it online. 
You can find the videos on the official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/DNDWizards/videos
Look for the four videos that show them playing through the Cragmaw Hideout and labelled as: "D&D Starter: Lost Mine of Phandelver Pt 1, 2, 3, and 4".
Focus on the fun and flow of the game. The rules are there to serve you. Let them serve you, but do not serve them. Nobody is going to remember years from now the time you screwed up and missed a +/-2 to a roll. They're going to remember the game more cinematically/narratively. They're going to remember the cool stuff you did as a group, not the mechanics issues that occasionally pop up.
Many of the arguments you might see on these boards are supposedly designed to micromanage the rules to maximize fun. They serve a purpose, but not so much for you right this moment.
One thing that might help you is the informal "Rule of Cool". If it is exciting and engaging, do it as long as it doesn't screw over the players (or other players if one player is doing it). If it changes something in the module, that's fine. Your players don't know you're changing things, and the module is a set of ideas/guidelines to help you have directed fun.
Edit: Do not serve the rules, please.
Also, if you have specific questions that come up, you can get a lot of good help in the Dungeon Master Help forum here:
Figure out what you like about D&D and what your players like. That may take some time but you will eventually come to realize what it is about D&D that you like. Then focus your game on those things you and your players like.
Everyone has their own ideas on what makes for a great game. All of us like different aspects of the game to different games. D&D is so unlike a game like monopoly where everyone is playing it pretty much the same way.
If you had access to a 1e DMG, I might suggest you read Gygax's DMing advice which has served me well over the years.
Frank3h wrote:
I think one of the biggest problems with modern versions of D&D is that the Dungeon Master books while called guides actually offer very little in terms of actually guiding you as a DM. They are more secondary rulebooks with optional rules.
For that reason I always recommend that new DM's just enterting the hobby should learn from the grandaddy himself and in my humble opinion there is nothing more informative and inspiring than reading the 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide. Its really the bible for D&D and while its intention was to speak to the 1st edition game originally it really is one of the few DMG's written that is actually a guide for dungeon masters. It really breaks down in great details what you can expect, how to deal with different problems, how to approach different narrative elements, how to create suspense, drive the story, what pitfalls to watch out for. Its a wonderful book that really applies to managing any sort of pencil and paper RPG.
Beyond that I think its a good idea to accept that your first baby steps are going to be clumsy no matter what you do, there is a lot to learn and much of it is very subtle. There are consquences and benefits of things that you won't be able to predict until you have some experiance under your belt.
One oppertunity you have since you have new players is that the veil of mystery surrounding the game is going to be a lot thicker for your players than for more experianced players. I suggest you try to maintain that veil as much as possible. Make characters and put the rulebooks away during play, let them experiance and learn the game through doing and through your guidance, rather than through reading. It will enhance their experiance and keep their focus on the narrative rather than the mechanical.
I would also suggest reading some good fluff material, trying to get a hold of guides like the Wilderness Guide & Dungeoneering Guide for example Both written for 1st edition but universally applicable as 90% of the information in there is fluff and its extremely useful. You can grab a paragraph out of the Dungeoneering Guide and get sufficient information to build an entire dungeon. They don't write books like that for modern versions of D&D very often unfortunatly and it will probobly be a long wait before you see anything like that if ever for 5e. These are what I like to call "old reliables", when your struggling for ideas you read a couple of pages and yo always find something new that triggers that spark of creativity.
I also recommend initially you avoid creating your own adventures and use published material, you already have the basic set and I think that is a really good place to start. Using the pre-generated characters is a good idea as well, cuts down on the prep work and requires even less hands on reading from the players.
So far some really good advice has been given in this thread.
If I can add my two coppers, however, I would encourage The Hoard of the Dragon Queen if you decide to jump into the deep end. Once you guys understand the mechanics and are comfortable with them, it provides a wonderful introduction to a longer campaign module. It is well written, provides opportunities for any number of character types and creative players, and might help a new DM such as yourself see what elements can make for a compelling campaign.
Hope you enjoy playing with your friends (a little mead helps to set the mood) and welcome to the wonderful world of pen and paper role playing games.
If you want to be a better DM, keep on DMing. Experience is the best teacher.
But, everything everyone has said above is really good too.
One thing I don't think has been mentioned (but I may be wrong) is that you should relax. Remember it is a game and you should have fun along with your players. It is awesome if you can DM for a group of players who go into the game expecting that you are trying to make the game fun for them so they don't question everything you explain or describe or rule. Groups that let the game flow over them and react to situations in character are the best to DM for (in my experience).
Thanks all