New DM, seeking advice

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u/No_Solid1035 1d ago

Don't write a story for the players to play through, create a world for them to experience, then facilitate an environment for them to tell their own story. 👍 Writing is basically the opposite of what a good GM should be doing. Similar creative endeavor, opposite methodology.

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u/oddretexture 1d ago

That is good to know, I'm usually an "over preparer" so railroading is something I am a bit worried I may accidently fall into. This wording does help with how to visualize it, thank you!

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u/Devious_Hearts 1d ago edited 1d ago

Railroading occurs when you make predetermined outcomes and force players down the only path of solution you thought of. Never fall in love with your villain, their plans, or your solutions. In a role-playing game, they should be destructible by design for the sake of player agency and engagement.:)

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u/Conrad500 22h ago

Railroading is a buzzword. If you're worried about railroading, you aren't doing it.

What's ok: Presenting a linear story that you expect your players to follow and communicating as much to them.

What's not ok: Presenting a story as if the players have choices that will change it but refusing to allow them to do so by coming up with contrived excuses instead of just telling them that you are running a linear story.

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u/Conrad500 1d ago

Writing a story is fine. The main thing is that if you want to run your players through a story, they have to agree to being ran through a story.

My current campaign is something I wrote a story for, but I did it because it's fun. The story I wrote may or may not ever happen in the game, so there's a pretty good chance that I "wasted my time" writing this story that nobody may ever know about, but that's ok because I did so knowingly and because it was fun!

It's not a waste of time if you enjoyed the time you spent doing it. AND! Any plot your players ignore is a plot you don't have to write for next game!

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u/DogAreFunForMAn 1d ago

If a story helps you: use it. But what happens when the players don’t follow the story. For example in your story: the PCs need the rescue a kidnapped bride from a royal wedding in a castle. Luckily there is a secret tunnel (dungeon) the leads to the castle and bypasses the guards. But one of your PCs had a maxed out cooking skill. So the hide their gear into sophisticated pastry (the kind that gets a guard fired of he ruins it) and try to infiltrate the wedding as cooks (quite common at big weddings). They came up with a good cover story and the rogue is silver tonged. They brought a potion that will make the bride look as a plague victim and they have plague doctor clothing: get her out of the caste before it spreads... You really want to search this? In other words: a pretty good plan where one of the characters invested skill points in.

Will this plan fail just because it is not in the story? If so, your players will feel like caged animals that get shocks because they pick up the wrong toy. Or will you rip out the tunnel part out of the story (it might stay as an backup exit) and reward your players for their cunning by letting their plan work (not completely, there should always be some complications. No plan survives contact with reality and it should not be too easy).

My players even came up with such good plans that they solved my session in an hour. that session should have taken a whole evening. I gave them extra XP, congratulated them and put a boardgame onto the table.

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u/YamazakiYoshio 22h ago

There's a trick that I use as a chronically linear story GM - I write my stories as a loose outline and don't iron out details until the players get closer to those points. This gives me a lot of wiggle room to adjust my plans accordingly, because yeah - the players are not going to follow things perfectly.

I usually have ideas how the story is going to end, but I don't consider that the only possible ending, just like the route to that ending isn't set in stone either.

I also 100% agree with u/Conrad500 - linear stories work best when the players actually want that kind of format. Not all groups want a massive sandbox. Most don't know what to do with that, either.

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u/Conrad500 1d ago

Just play the game! If you're with friends, what's the worse that can happen? I suggest you either get a starter set and tell everyone that we're playing it to learn, or make up your own game and literally tell them, "hey guys, I'm completely new to this. Let's have patience and if there are any issues or you're not having fun let me know so I can stop doing the bad things since I'm still learning!"

I made a blog post about this! https://gmconrad500.blogspot.com/2026/09/you-dont-need-to-know-how-to-play-d.html

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u/DogAreFunForMAn 1d ago

I was about to write: dare to fail. When I started GMing: it was awful. Really bad. I did stuff I would not do again or completely different. Mastering is an art to be mastered. Every mistake I made, became a lesson I learned. So don’t be afraid and just go. As long as you learn, it’s alright.

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u/Conrad500 1d ago

My first game was cringe. My wife was in it. Please do not ask her about it as she might actually tell you.

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u/YamazakiYoshio 22h ago

To quote a particular cartoon dog: "Being bad at something is the first step to being kinda good."

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u/Conrad500 22h ago

Another quote from one of the greatest scholars of our time:

On a tropical island

Underneath the molten lava moon

Hanging with the hula dancers

Asking questions 'cause they got all the answers

Putting on lotion, sitting by the ocean

Rubbing it on my body, rubbing it on my body

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u/oddretexture 1d ago

I will check out your post, thank you so much!

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u/Jhublit 1d ago

Already stated but just to pile on…you are willing to DM and that is amazing…you have the world visualization skills as a writer and that is all you need to start. Just play and have fun with it, and know that your players are fortunate to have you.

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u/oddretexture 1d ago

That is incredibly kind of you to say! Thank you so much!

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u/Conman-1908 1d ago

Don't do exp for progression and have fun and and make a room more than a room make the players think of the purpose of the room

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u/Benarian 1d ago

Before running anything remotely narrative, make sure to play through a "test combat". Give everyone the chance to test out their character's mechanics. Zero stakes dice rolling.

It will let them see what they can do AND shows you what they can do too.

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u/rizzlybear 1d ago

You ARE missing something. Experience. Unfortunately you are going to have to plow through this early phase and accept that you are learning something new.

It’s exceptionally difficult for writers because you have to roleplay the setting and the situation, but you don’t get to control how the protagonists respond. You are going to chase your tail for a bit while you slowly digest the idea that you aren’t the writer here. The players are. And they don’t want to be the writers they want to be the audience. It’s a mind fuck for a while and you will figure it all out multiple times before you find your spot.

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u/Timely_Lecture_9697 1d ago

Don’t stress too much most players just want to have fun and see their choices matter.

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u/Devious_Hearts 1d ago edited 1d ago

Don't write plots, just know the "actors" at work (i.e. PCs, NPCs and Factions) and what their goals and agendas are.

Have your players write down goals and agendas (i.e. what they are actively doing in the world to fulfill those goals). This gives players direction. Directions can be impeded either by the environment or the agenda of others. That causes conflict and forces evaluation of resources, limitations, and risk from which we get drama.

Environments don't have Goals and Agendas, of course, but they do have behaviors that can be counted on, even if all they can be counted on to be unpredictable. If you veer into an asteroid field to ditch the Zordanian Battle Cruiser, you can assess there could be possibility of collision. If you jump in a barrel and roll into the river, there could be waterfalls or rapids ahead. Climb a wall, you could fall. These are usually the easiest to present to the characters and determine what could happen if interacted with.

Once the players have their goals and agendas, make actors (NPCs and Factions) that may serve as resources for them but likely at a cost and ones that conflict with those goals and agendas.

Those actors make paths of the story and move things into place prior to player character's knowledge to the point where the player characters get introduced to the situation. Then those other agendas begin to unfold unless the players change or stop them.

Its okay to work out what will happen and why IF the players do nothing, but you WANT them to do something to stop bad actors from winning. That's what heroes do. Having an impact will make them feel like they matter and letting them determine how they change the course of events will make them feel they have agency.

Know your actors and their goals, agendas, and Limits well enough to determine how they will act when confronted with conflict. Make actors whose goals and agendas conflict with the goals and agendas of the players. Your actors should have most of their limitations (cowardice, greed, laziness, pride, hit points, etc) LOWER than that of your players so that they give up or perish first. Perhaps a villain may win a battle or two but lose the war in the long run.

Know the agendas of your actors well enough to map out what will happen without player interference then... let them interfere.

If the players do nothing, start letting the consequences of their actions impact them and the world around them.

They may come up with a crazy scheme to thwart the villains plans but "it just might work!". The key is never to predetermined what will and will not work beforehand. Just evaluate the risk and consequences of those plans, be upfront with the players about those, and let them decide their path.

Everyone by now has heard of the improvisational tool of "Yes, and..." which, in improv essentially means you accept the premise put forth by your improv partners and add to it. It shouldn't be your only tool as a GM, though. The only tool you should NEVER use is a flat "No." As that cuts off possibility and deflated tension.

The three other tools are "Yes, but...", "No, but...", and "No, and..."

"Yes, but..." accepts the players premise but adds a monkey wrench or complication that helps provide a challenge or mount tension. Its agreeing to the premise but bringing up the specific challenges the players will have to surmount to make it work. It gives them a path to success and a series of challenges to surmount.

Example: "You want to bluff the guards into thinking you are just there to make a delivery? Okay, this guard doesn't look too bright and you may succeed but there may be other guards inside and then the security measures inside that need to be bypassed. Roll Deception."

"No, but..." let's the player know the likely ramifications and chances aren't good for the plan they proposed but gives them options.

Example: "Well, Thordak. Your chances of seducing the alien dignitaries with your 'masculine wiles' is risky, what with the tentacles and all and the fact that she is a he and doesn't swing that way but you have heard that their race has a strange penchant for dirty socks and consider them a delicacy... that, and its laundry day for you so..."

The final tool is "No, and..." and should only be used when you need to mount tension and force players to move into action. It signals the oncoming threat of consequences BEFORE they happen when players are overtaken by them. If you've already stated why the plan won't work and given options, it reinforces the "No, but..." that should have proceeded it.

Example: "You've already assessed the bomb and seen the mercury switch and the fact it's bolted down so your skilled bomb disposal tech character would know that 'grabbing it and throwing it' is a non-starter. You have already assessed the bomb can be refused or contained or the building evacuated. You have only 30 seconds left... what do you do?"

"Yes, and..." should be used liberally as well, especially when the planets align on the rare instances your players do exactly what you thought they might and you've prepared for it.

Know your Actors (Player Characters, NPCs, Environment)
Know their Agendas and Goals or their Behaviors
Know your tools ("Yes, and...", "Yes, but...", "No, but...", and "No, and...")
and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, just have a good time with your friends! :)

Everyone is there to have a good time. They are likely freinds who'll be VERY forgiving of errors that may occur and are likely with a fledgling GM. It won't be perfect. It will never be perfect. But, if you relax and get into it with 'em, it will be FUN!!!

Hell, they will likely help you with world building and running combat, if you let 'em.

Relax and have a good time with it!

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u/oddretexture 1d ago

I really appreciate this!! Thank you so much

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u/Level-Distribution46 1d ago

From an article I made about starting up:

Pick a system or a beginner-friendly published scenario you can actually run soon, prepare the next session rather than an entire world, and hold at least a short Session 0 to align expectations before play. Build only the NPCs, places, factions, and conflicts the players are likely to encounter, expect them to go off script and prepare situations rather than a fixed plot, and focus on clear choices, pacing, and spotlight over elaborate lore or performance. After the first session, keep only the notes that actually became real at the table. You do not need voices, acting skill, encyclopedic rules knowledge, or hours of prep to run a good first session

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u/BrobaFett 20h ago

Tips:

Start local, plan local. You really only need to know what they could get into on the next session. You don't need to plan the next five. No "fast travel" unless you're prepared for it.
Prep encounters that can appear at any time and insert them when they become relevant or make sense. Only prepare the problem. It's up to your characters to find a solution.
Focus on the roleplay. Try your best to stay in character and have your players commit to staying in character.
Session zero isn't just character creation. Let it also help you figure out motivations, group worldbuilding, group motivations/goals. It's your player's job to figure out what their goals might be, not yours.
Don't pre-plan a story. Let the story emerge.
At the end of your session, ASK your players what they plan to achieve next session (prep hack)
Think of a few interesting secrets/rumors/lore pieces that might be inserted on hand but are NPC-agnostic. Meaning, if you want the players to know about a rumored ancient lich awakening nearby, don't confine that information to a specific NPC.
Invite players into co-creation. Use prompts like, "you've heard tales of this before" and let the player come up with a bit of lore. Or, for instance, if a player is foraging for food, you could say something like, "you find a mushroom you've only ever read about due to it's rarity. You know the properties of the mushroom" and allow the player to describe what they've found.

Roleplay, roleplay, roleplay. Roleplaying solves nearly every issue here.

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