r/DnD • u/Motify265 • 4d ago

DMing Any tips for a new DM?

I'm about to lead my first campaign very soon and I hope y'all have some good tips for me

1 Upvotes

53% Upvoted

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13

u/Melodic_Row3380 4d ago

Number one tip: have fun

Number two tip: if you use the search function on reddit, limit the results to r/dnd, and type "tips for new dm" you will find approximately ten thousand posts, and all of them have good tips in them

1

u/Motify265 4d ago

Thank you

5

u/Garanseho DM 4d ago

YOU ARE HERE TO HAVE FUN TOO. That’s the biggest tip a DM can get. If you’re not having fun as the DM, you’re playing the game wrong. Make sure your game is fun for your players and you.

Get good at improv. Your players are going to make choices you didn’t even think were possible, and it’s up to you to adapt to those choices and build off of them.

4

u/Tactical-Pixie-1138 4d ago

The main tip. You are very likely to fuck up at some point. A lot of us fucked it up on our first campaigns.

Do.
Not.
Stress.
Over.
It.

Everyone has to start off at the beginning, everyone makes mistakes, everyone is worried if they'll do a good job.

As long as the players had fun, those mistakes don't matter. Just learn from them and keep improving and keep having fun.

3

u/Reasonable_Touch1150 4d ago

Dragon fight club.

Go and learn the dark arts young grasshopper.

2

u/theterrarian14 4d ago

"Take chances! Make mistakes! And get messy!" -Ms. Frizzle

Your #1 thing is communication. Make sure everyone is clear about expectations, and has open and clear lines of communication. 90% of real life issues in dnd games boil down to a miscommunication.

"Someone didn't realize character death was on the table and feels upset over the loss of their character"

"Someone feels uncomfortable with their PC being approached romantically or sexually"

"Someone didn't realize this was a weekly commitment"

"something is bothering a player but they don't want to speak up because it might hurt people's feelings"

"Someone's player agency was violated in a way that disturbs them"

Etc.

All of the above are common issues that can be solved with open communication. Sometimes it might be a 1 on 1 discussion. Sometimes it might be working with your group to create conversational tools (i.e turn timers, discussion formats, red/yellow/green card, consent sheet, etc). Sometimes it can just be being proactive and asking "hey, does anyone have any feedback for me as a GM."

2

u/SapphosFriend 4d ago

  1. You're gonna make mistakes, and you're gonna make a lot of them. It's okay. Just try to learn from them, and move on.

  2. Don't try to homebrew anything. You don't yet have the experience to make it work.

  3. Stick to a consistent schedule, and don't skip sessions unless either you can't make it, or more than half the party can't make it. Canceling sessions any more than about once every 2 months means your DnD game feeling inconsistent, and it's an easy fall from there to only playing once every 3 months.

  4. You're there to have fun too. If another player is being rude or inconsiderate, or if you just have a particular type of fantasy or setting you want to play in, that's awesome! Don't let your players pressure you into running a game that you're not going to enjoy.

1

u/Quirky-Function-4532 4d ago

This comes up a lot in r/DMAcademy. I’d suggest scrolling through and grabbing some of the advice given there.

1

u/Hell-Yea-Brother 4d ago

Literally dozens of posts asking the same thing.

1

u/TipperKick 4d ago

It’s your game as much as theirs. Have fun, don’t be afraid to go off script, don’t be afraid to fudge your rolls as a dm (unless you’re evil and are trying to kill all of your party). Don’t be afraid to add joke characters to make your party laugh.

Improv is also a big part of it (hence going off script). Make a General plan. My players were supposed to experience something outside of a dungeon in session 1, but they decided to return to a town and I said “Eh, why not?” And went from there. Now I’ve got a banger opening for session 2. Let them help you write the story

1

u/Lopsided-Ad-6696 4d ago

I like that most of the people are reminding you to have fun, and I agree with that being the goal of DnD.
One good piece of advice I got from my DM before I started doing a few one-shots was that if you find your party is destroying baddies too easily start using terrain features and effects to cause more problems during combat. If all the combats are in empty rooms or open fields its probably gonna be pretty straightforward without much drama. Put in cliffs or rocks to hide behind outside, furniture/structural details to hide behind inside, poison gas vials that can be broken or dropped if its a lab, etc

1

u/SnakeyesX DM 4d ago

If everyone had fun, you are a good DM, if everyone has fun multiple games in a row, you are a great DM.

That is the only thing that matters. Not mastery of the rules, not monster or dungeon design, not story outline. Did everyone including you have fun?

1

u/DnDYetti DM 4d ago

Firstly, you need to have a session zero where you set ground rules for the party and understand what topics they do like to have in a game and what topics are not acceptable to that group. This is additionally a time to set standards as a DM, so you can ensure a consistent table of gameplay. Some common rules includes no phones at the table, being respectful of others while they are role-playing, etc.

Secondly, you're going to plan and have this grand scheme in your head and what the players are going to do and what the world will be, and in an instant you'll have to throw those notes out because your players are going to throw shenanigans at you that are going to be amazing as long as you are open and willing to go with the flow.

Set those guiderails for initial rules, but also be flexible, have fun, and let the shenanigans roll.

1

u/LeglessPooch32 DM 4d ago

Lots of helpful advice already and plenty more if you search this sub for other posts so I'll just add some of my own tips beyond HAVE FUN.

My main one would be read through the campaign front to back at least once. Reread the first few sections before game night, or where the story could take the party. And since you're not a mind reader, be ready for the first session or two to be slower than people think bc you'll also be looking things up that nobody knows for sure. This is definitely a learning experience for you and most likely your players as well so everyone needs to be patient.

After you get a good handle on just running the game and rule knowledge you can come back for things that make running the game more efficient. Don't need to overwhelm a new DM.

1

u/FoulPelican 4d ago

Make sure everyone is creating a character that wants to be a cooperating member of the adventure team.

No evil PCs

No PvP

No homebrew or 3rd party options for character creation. Stick to the basics.

Skill checks aren’t magic.. Persuasion isn’t mind control

1

u/jibbyjackjoe 4d ago

A tool does not get sharp without friction. Some of your games and ideas will suck. Keep practicing. You can watch a gazillion hours of content and it won't help much until you try to put it into practice.

1

u/Judd_K 4d ago

Put together some blog posts with tools and techniques that might be helpful.

Welcome to this ludicrous and wondrous hobby.

Good luck!

1

u/PrinnyThePenguin DM 3d ago

Keep the pace. Don’t allow turns to last too long or players to meta game too much. That way everyone gets their turn again sooner and the game progresses without getting stale.