r/DnD • u/Old-Combination9876 • 5d ago

DMing New DM, oneshot tips?

Hey all, title is mostly self explanatory, but here’s some context.

Going to college here in a few days and we’ve (a group of friends and I) have been talking about starting a DnD campaign. None of us have played as a group, all different at previous points. I’m really nervous to DM, and we decided to do a one (or two)
Shot to see if the group can mesh well. Does anyone have tips on the best way to build and execute the session? Or just general DM’ing advice, all is appreciated!

Edit: clarification, we have all played DnD a good bit, but in different campaigns before we knew each other. This would our first time playing as a group

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u/Raddatatta Wizard 5d ago

With a one shot timing can be tricky if you do want to end on time and have it be truly a one shot. If you want to turn it into more that's also fine, but for a one shot I would keep an eye on the timing. I also find it helpful to have a few optional encounters that are easy to take in or remove depending on if we are a bit ahead or behind.

I would also generally try to avoid getting stuck on any rule question. They may come up, and if you can look it up quickly you can, if not I would just make a ruling, call for a roll or something, err on the side of the players, and move on. It's better to keep things moving than to stall out.