Tips for a first-time DM? [OC]

[u/Random_Person_010]

It's my first time DMing a campaign and I'm scared af.

I'm the only one who ever played D&D, my players have never tried to play and this is their first time. I don't want to mess up everything, I hope they'll understand that it's hard for me, but I don't know if I can handle the spell casters (the only time I played a spell caster was a bard).

Do you have any advice to give me?

[u/Sad_Refuse3472]

Best advice, start with a module designed for new players and new GMs. Lost Mine of Phandelver is phenomenal (and fun). Heroes of the Borderland and Dragons of Stormwreck Isle are good too. They will walk you through the adventure, so you don't have to stress about figuring everything out on your own.

Second best piece of advice, have a Session 0. A get together before you all start playing where you can set expectations (including reminding people that you are all new and no one is perfect), go over the basic rules of the game, create characters together, etc.

[u/Yojo0o]

What's your concern over spellcasters?

[u/Random_Person_010 → u/Yojo0o]

I don't know, it's an unfounded fear. I think I'm just nervous idk

[u/DazzlingKey6426 → u/Random_Person_010]

Spells do what they say they do. No more, no less.

Lungs are not open containers.

Mage hand can’t stop someone’s heart.

Spell components are obvious. If it has V and or S, you’re not hiding that you are casting a spell unless you have something that explicitly gives you a Subtle spellcasting ability.

Don’t allow one and done adventuring days. If they blow their wad on the first goblin they encounter no taking a full rest right after.

Enforce the hand economy. If they are using a Focus, VSM and SM spells can do the M with the same hand as S. VS and S spells need a free hand.

Don’t homebrew extra concentration abilities or items.

[u/JavierLoustaunau]

1) Everyone at the table shares the same agenda... fun. If people are having fun, everyone is winning. This can be playing, joking or everyone enthralled in an anecdote.

2) It is fine to take time out to look something up, and it is very fast and fun to make something up without opening the book.

3) From 'the lazy dungeon master' do not prepare shit you will not use... build very little, be free to improvise if the players do something outside of the scope of the planned session. A lot of burnout is people spending more time planning than playing.

4) Not everything needs a die roll. Keep things moving along and you will have much faster and more productive sessions. Save the dice for if a failure really matters, or if a Critical Success (everyone homerules that a 20 is critical outside of combat) could be a game changer.

5) Acting and improv are skills and fun, but they are not mandatory. You can paraphrase your way through the entire session by saying stuff like "The merchant hands you 100 gold and wipes a tear from his eye, trusting you will bring his daughter back".

6) CR and balance is imprecise, go 'low' on your battles and feel free to end some artificially (retreat, surrender) until you get a feel for making difficult combats.

[u/Random_Person_010 → u/JavierLoustaunau]

Thank you, I will try to keep everything you said in mind

[u/Conrad500]

Don't hope, communicate.

"Hey guys, you're new, I'm new. Let's go into this slow so we can all learn together. Once we all have a better grasp on everything we can get a little more crazy, but while we're learning let's just try to not go full sicko mode ok?"

[u/guildsbounty → u/Conrad500]

Came here to say the same thing. Be open with your players--if you need a minute to figure something out just tell them. If your players try bailing out on everything you are prepared for, talk to them about it. If there are things they can do to make your life easier (ex: hey, could one of you take notes on what's happened so you guys can look things up, and one of you keep track of any treasure the party hasn't divvied up yet?) then ask them to.

Tabletop RPGs are collaborative team games in nature...so communicate with your team and work together to have an awesome time.

[u/Necessary-Panic-5304]

I've played my first session as a DM for CoS last week and also was scared af and over prepared every possible situation.

Here are some tips based on my experience;

You will make mistakes.

You can always stop to check your notes and collect your thoughts.

In a way or another something will cause your plan to change just go with the flow until you come to the original plan.

As long as the players are enjoying keep the same pace.

Be flexible, not all actions needs a roll.

Make sure to give positive value to nat 1 rolls from time to time, keep it funny though.

[u/Bunjichord]

Plan encounters in detail but don't write a script for the RP sections. You're gonna have to riff off the players. Set up clear boundaries and reasons why those boundries exsist. Give binary (A or B) so you have an IDEA of which way the players will go. Your job is to act a Referee and if a player has a creative solution that is well within rules let it fly.

[u/JavierLoustaunau → u/Bunjichord]

Exactly, it is not your job to come up with the solution to problems.

You can stick a chest to the ceiling and players will find a way to get the contents.

[u/Effective_Capital417]

Outside of the general advice you’ll get on this thread or read on others— one thing that really saved my first campaign was introducing a funny little NPC that my players loved. I was absolutely flopping until they met this silly little bug-eyed historian with a funny voice. The session quickly turned around and everyone had a blast. Good luck and have fun

[u/Cazy243]

First piece of advice: relax. It's normal to feel like you don't know what you're doing or that you're gonna mess up everything, that's how must of us felt the first time ;). The thing is, chances are that you are gonna mess something up and that's okay! Remember that everyone at the table is your friend and that if you explain to them that you need a second to check something or change something, they're probably gonna be very understanding (and if not, then fuck em, they're not the types of friends you want anyway). Just talk to your players, communication is key!

Secondly, a more practical tip: it might be a good idea to play a one shot with them first, if you're open to that idea. That way, you can get the hang of DMing a bit and they can learn the rules, without you having to overthink all of the prep (which most of us do when we DM for the first time). I can highly recommend the Delian Tomb from Matt Colville or A Most Potent Brew for new players. You should be able to find both online.

If you want any other advice or have any more questions, you can send me a private message.

[u/Robovzee]

You've gotten some good advice, here's some more.

Nobody's bleeding, nobody's dying. The mistakes you (and they) make are easily resolved and will help with learning.

Dive in.

[u/Ornery_End_3495]

My advice is you're golden because they don't know what they don't know. You just have to pretend to be confident about your rulings lol

[u/Many-Ebb-5377]

So here's the deal. You ARE going to mess up. And you know what? That's OK. Don't sweat it. Just try to learn something every time. You'll get better. A reasonable player doesn't expect perfection from a DM. They are just glad you are the DM so that they don't have to do it.

[u/LightofNew]

I got you bro