D&D 5e, starting a game soon, any DM's have tips?

gradyhawks

gradyhawks

gradyhawks

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So,

Bought myself the 5e books and have found a few mates who want to give it a go. Smashing! However, I have never played DnD before and neither have they, going in completely n00b.

Anyone here played and have some tips and advice for a new DM at all?

I was going to get the starter set and run that with them, but I found a free adventure that someone has written based on the MTG universe, in Innstrad. Sounds smashing fun. I plan on getting some miniatures painted up for my players PCs as well as getting spell cards written out so I can ease them into the whole "Play it in your head" concept.

But yes, not played DnD before but have enjoyed Baldurs gate and the like for many years. Any advice is more than welcome.

Cheers,

Grady
 
Start with a couple of pre written adventures so everyone can get used to the mechanics.
A quickstep guide helps detailing what to roll and when. As long as you don't make things too hard and take it slow so everyone understands you can't go wrong.
 
From my own horrible experience of my first session being a GM (DH not D&D)

  • Take notes
  • Try and prevent them from meta gaming
  • At least know the basic rules (and any common advanced rules), no shame in looking rules up but nobody wants to wait for everything to be looked up
  • At least be familiar with basic skills and mechanics before starting (if you think you are go back and give them another read)
  • Basically just read the rule book :P
  • Know the basic flow of the session ahead, they may deviate but if you have the main structure prepped it will go much smoother (flow charts help)
  • Reward awesome RP'ing or ingenious ideas.
  • Have a simple system in place to create NPC's on the spot.


Over a year later and I still suck at following my own advice, but I do try.
 
^ Good advice
I work from a pre written story of my own making so prep as much as you can
All monster rolls are done beforehand for HP and initiatives as well as skill checks and loot.
There are lot of apps out there that can help. We try to keep to a house rule of no electronic devices on the table as people get distracted when there is nothing to do and then miss relevant parts of the story.
 
Can't believe I missed this thread.

I believe you can over-prepare as well - it's a tough job being the DM at times, but it can also be very rewarding. Just remember that you cannot prepare for what your players are going to do - they will always do something unexpected - so don't force them into doing what you want them to do, just to move the story along. You are just the storyteller - they should be deciding what happens.

Firstly, rules. At least know the basics. Visit here, and print a copy for every player at the table - ask that they read them: http://readthedamnbook.blogspot.co.uk/

Secondly, let your players try stuff out of the ordinary. If your dwarven fighter says he wants to somersault over a wall and throw his battle-axe at the bad guy, don't say no. Say "Sure. Make an Acrobatics check. Then attack with disadvantage." Let THEM work out what's stupid - but let them do it themselves - he might roll 20 on each check and it will be memorable - or he'll roll a 1 on his dex roll and face-plant into the wall.

Only ask your players to roll dice where failing means something. If your players find a chest and are in no danger, don't make the rogue roll his "pick locks" checks a dozen times, just let him open the chest. If there are bad guys chasing the group, then make him roll!

Making rolling a 1 something worth dreading - out of combat, rolling a 1 on an ability check normally means something unexpected is going to happen. Don't be afraid to improvise!

You cannot please everyone all the time. When the situation allows, I often let different players take the lead by making them the centre of attention, even for just half an hour at a time. That way everyone feels engaged at some point.

Respectfully request that players do not use their phones, tablets or laptops during the game.

Make up homerules - if there's something you don't like, or you want to make something else up, go for it. It's your game, do what you want with it.

Finally, remember that everything your characters see, hear and feel is coming from you, so try to bring more senses into your description. So instead of "You're walking through a heavy forest. A path leads out in front of you. What do you want to do?", tickle their senses: "You're in a deep, dark wood. The trees rise high up above you and block out most of the sunlight, but beams of light break through here and there. A gentle mist lies across the forest floor and you can very faintly smell fire, but reckon it's some distance away. It is eerily silent, and you realise that here there is no birdsong. A path leads out in front of you, winding between the trees. What do you want to do?" (this is a bit over the top, but adding something more than just what people see can help draw a picture)

Have snacks. These are vital :D

Actually, I could sit here all night so I'm going to stop. The main thing is to have fun - don't get caught up in rules - make a decision and check the books later.
 
Massive D & D fans here :)

My wife and I were partway through a 3.5 (I think) adventure but haven't touched it for a couple of years. We play as me = DM, her running two or three characters. Not ideal, but we have no-one else to play with :(

Last night I downloaded the free Version 5 Player & DM rules.

Does anyone have any advice to offer on how easy it will be for us to carry on or start a new adventure with just the two of us?

If it looks positive I'll buy the books right away :)
 
Golden rule. It's supposed to be fun ;)

Never dm'd a group before but used to play weekly rp games (vampire.... Lol) so I can throw a few things in too.

As previously stated, have the story prepared before the session, flow diagrams seem to work well as can have multiple branches so the players can have more paths to choose.

Diagrams in general can help, got a cave network? Map it out and cover it with other bits of paper and reveal as they explore. Big banquet Hall to be an encounter room?try drawing it out (before hand obviously :p) so they can truly get a sense of scale. Can help with deciding whether a movement is viable or not :)

If the players want to do something unexpected, try not to outright say they can't. It's as much their story as it is yours. However you can wrangle them in and coerce them back on track through story telling, this is where being good at improv on the spot is handy. Try not to be so obsessed/controlling like the dm in "zero charisma" (funny film) :p

And yeah, try and move the focus of importance around the group. Everyone is there to play annd have fun, it's not that much fun if always in the back.


Our group started off with about 5 of us and it worked pretty well and over the year or two that we did a main campaign (multiple chapters) or group grew to about 10 and it was pretty crazy. Our dm did a good job at meeting us all involved and happy.... But it was a bit of a cluster ****, and this was before smart phones so was just people talking amongst themselves about the plot.


So good luck and have fun :D
 
Having played RGPs for over 30 years, a few thoughts:
- First things first, think about the game "world" that you want and how you want for it to be. Doesn't need to necessarily be as per the normal expected standards. For example, I played one game (DM'd by a friend), where magic was illegal and magic users could be arrested. It was an interesting twist. Played another where the GM gradually introduced modern weapons, just because it fit the scenario
- Where possible, try to AVOID using the rules. As stated above, use your common sense, taking into account the world setting first. Constantly referring to rules and insisting on dice rolling for everything just stops the game
- The rules are only there to really cater for where players may disagree with the preferred outcome of another player or DM. Know how they work, but again, use them sensibly
- For combat, establish and enforce an appropriate logic to go through it. If you allow things to turn into a free for all, it's awful. For example, go around each player in turn, requesting their "statement of intent", such that everyone knows what should be happening. If you don't agree with how some of the rules work, feel free to modify them, just as long as you are consistent and they make sense
- Using physical items like lead figures to visualise the combat setting does help
- Give the players a general set of guidance, but try to avoid forcing situations. Can sometimes be more interesting when they go off the expected path

Lastly, and most importantly, have fun. There is no winning in the game, just having fun. As such the inebriated banter is part of the experience.

On a more complex note, if you get to the point where you simply don't like the rules, feel free to write your own. Personally I got to the point of not liking any of the rulesets I have, every one of them felt too restrictive, so I ended up writing my own. Give it a try.
 
Check out Roll20, it has plenty of games kicking off all the time. You can also try Fantasy Grounds (this is slightly less flexible). They're both official partners for D&D 5th Edition now, so that has probably boosted both of their fan bases (not that Roll20 needed it).

My group plays in the flesh, so we're not available for online play, plus the table's full at the moment (five players and one DM). I was considering starting a second group online, but struggle to get regular uninterrupted time apart from Thursday night's NerdHerd (as one WAG calls it :D).
 
Nodiggidy123 said:
Any active players on here?

Im just starting and looking for games, be it on skype etc etc.

Just in the process of creating a wood elf ranger.
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I've been looking for a game for a while, I was actually organising an adventure through here for people but it fell through due to very heavy work commitments and childcare issues.

I'm not up for DM'ing as I still have time constraints but if someone was starting a game I would try and join up.
 
Will be picking up this and starting a game with some friends. Have not played since I was a kid (like 12 years old?) and only one of the friends has played before :cool:.
 
No1newts said:
I've been looking for a game for a while, I was actually organising an adventure through here for people but it fell through due to very heavy work commitments and childcare issues.

I'm not up for DM'ing as I still have time constraints but if someone was starting a game I would try and join up.
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lordhughes said:
I would be up for some DnD if we can find a DM :)
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And I would be up for it as well :D
 
Standard D&D dilemna, no DM :p

Tummy said:
Will be picking up this and starting a game with some friends. Have not played since I was a kid (like 12 years old?) and only one of the friends has played before :cool:.
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I picked it up again having not played since 14, if you get the right group it's a great laugh. Key is a good DM as they ca largely make or break a game.
 
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That's the opposite of our group - we have 4 DMs out of six players!

I've just suggested that the group move to a new game for a while as I've DM'd myself into the ground and just fancied playing for a bit - I've probably DM'd for 80% of the last three years for our group.

What were you looking to play?
 
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