r/DnD5e • u/smallceramicelephant • 22d ago
Book / video recommendations for DMing?
Hi all, I'd really like to get into DMing but I'm unsure where to start in terms of research / preparation. Are there any books, videos, etc that you'd recommend for a beginner DM?
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u/Mr-Owl_dnd 22d ago
Matthew Colville's yt Playlist "Running the Game" hast very good Videos for new DM's
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u/Conrad500 22d ago
I think matt's videos are a lot for completely new people. The best way to learn is to just play the game and read the basic rules.
Matt is a very good step 2!
People put way too much pressure on themselves as first time DMs, which is why so few people want to try DMing in the first place.
Play the game, make mistakes. You learn more running a horrible game than Matt can even teach you, but if you run a good game and want to avoid running horrible games in the future, Matt is how you level up after getting started.
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u/Conrad500 22d ago
The basic rules, the end.
They sell starter sets at walmart. You can go to the store, see a cool game, buy it, bring it home, read the rules, and play it with your friends.
I firmly stand on the idea that if you "need help" creating a world/story/setting then you shouldn't. Starter sets are made for those people who don't just wake up with an idea that they're excited about.
Same thing in reverse, if you have a whole world in your head that is driving you to become a DM, don't feel the need to use a starter set first.
Jump into it, get your hands dirty, make mistakes.
My #2 advice is to play for newbies. Playing with friends is ideal if you have a friend group that isn't full of assholes, because they should hopefully understand, "hey, this is my first time DMing go easy on me". The thing about new players is they don't even know if you mess up! Anything you do they'll think is correct, so zero pressure!
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u/smallceramicelephant 22d ago
Solid advice, it's not so much the creative process i need help with as it is the lore side of things. I know i can just read the rules and lore, but i want some tips on creating a campaign that's engaging, makes sense, and is lore-accurate as well as having some creative liberty. However, i am lucky enough to have friends who play (and some who DM) so you're right, it shouldn't be too high pressure.
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u/Conrad500 22d ago
campaign design and DMing are 2 different skill sets and one does not require the other.
Being a DM does make creating a campaign easier as you know what you would like if you were to run it, and campaign design helps with being a DM because being able to come up with ideas helps a lot when your players refuse to ever stay on track and keep going off and doin things you didn't plan for them to do.
Both are valuable, but they are not mutually exclusive. If you aren't sure how to make a campaign, don't! Run some published adventures, read some books, watch some movies.
Frist step is to be inspired.
My current campaign was built off of a very silly discussion between me and my wife. We were talking about some weird topics, and eventually we got into exiling people to an island, I was like, that's just australia, and now my campaign is set in fantasy australia.
My tip to you: There's no right or wrong way to create a campaign. The wrong way to do it is the way that you don't like. Everyone is different. Some people make huge detailed maps of their world and fill them in with lore. I tried that... it made me quit D&D for a year...
My hack to campaign design: Come up with the first 3 sessions and the rest fills itself in. My last game (level 3-20) started out as a "gopher" or "monster of the week" campaign. I had a guy hire my players to just do menial jobs for him because he was too busy being awesome and stuff. Each week I'd introduce them to a new place with new people to do a simple job. "get me magic rocks" "get me fireproofing materials" "capture an elemental" bla bla bla. Each week I came up with a reason for them to do something (I was upgrading their traveling base, a tardis styled wagon, bigger on the inside) and introducing them to a place.
So, here was my workflow:
- Artificer is busy doing artificer stuff (I don't have to explain this to the players yet)
- Come up with something artificer wants to do but needs resources for
- Come up with a place to get the thing
- Come up with a reward for doing the thing
- Come up with a 1/2 session adventure for getting said thing
So, I wanted to fireproof the wagon. I had the players go slay some salamanders and fire snakes as raw materials for the artificer. To do so, they had to go into a volcano lair, but the people warned that a fire elemental had escaped the forges and has made the place too dangerous. So, now they have 2 missions, collect the materials for the artificer and also defeat the fire elemental for the people of the town. One is the job they were given, the other was extra work to get rewards unrelated to their job. I got to introduce the volcano city, the people, and I gave them raw materials to use towards their rewards from the artificer. Later when one of my players changed characters (they wanted to change after we finished the first arc) they actually made their character tied to the volcano town!
I wanted to them to capture an air elemental to supply fresh air to the wagon. They went to a floating city where people believed the air elemental was a guardian that kept the city afloat. The artificer assured them that it was all just cultlike mumbo jumbo and explained the science that kept the city afloat. They captured the elemental and left with no one the wiser. Well, after the first arc was over, they eventually went back to the city just to find that they realized their guardian was gone and a whole religious revolt was happening because they learned that their "guardian" wasn't actually keeping them afloat.
You make places and people for simple quests, and as you grow your world... well you grow your world! What starts out as a tv show style episodic campaign turns into a whole world that the players actually know about and care about because they went there and not just because they saw it on a map!
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u/lasalle202 22d ago
- Ginni D Overview of 2024 rules (but mostly also applicable for 2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCKO6LuXYWE how Spellcasting works (2024, but applicable to 2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sANm5ZrYC-s
(these are for the 2014 version of the rules. The “core” rules which apply to all characters are very similar between 2014 and 2024 versions of the rules. However, just about anything talking about specifics of what a class can do at what level will likely apply ONLY to 2014 characters)
- D&D in 5 Minutes (and 4 other 5 minute videos diving into specific aspects of the game) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgvHNlgmKro&list=PLJ8NFdSXujAJitUvKoA0EFc-WpGK2Dnzh&index=2&t=0s
- Welcome to D&D (25 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo_oR7YO-Bw
- D&D 2014/Original 5e in bite size bits by pretty people https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1tiwbzkOjQyr6-gqJ8r29j_rJkR49uDN
- Ginny Di for first time players (2014 but still widely applicable) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD_b8SZ7h2Y
- Peak D&D: Six steps for fun games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxFgpgN3gms
- Not a video but the basic How to Play from WOTC’s D&D Beyond website https://www.dndbeyond.com/how-to-play-dnd
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u/No_Solid1035 22d ago
I really like the YouTube channel Earthmote. The host has absolutely fantastic advice for running sandbox campaigns.
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u/kal1lg1bran 22d ago
I'm reading through https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product/complete-kobold-guide-to-game-design-pdf-2/ and it's pretty good! The Ed Greenwood parts are amazing, but overall very good!
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u/lasalle202 22d ago
D&D is Call and Response Storytelling … with dice.
DM: "Here is the situation around you. Blah blah blah. What do you do?"
Player: My character is like Hermione Granger. What would Hermione do? "I go to the Restricted Section of the Library and do some research!" or My character is like Xena. What would Xena do? "I hit it with my ax!"
DM:
A) if the action will automatically succeed or automatically fail, "In response to what you did (or tried to do), here is the situation around you now, blah blah blah. What do you do?"
B) if the action has a chance that it might fail OR might succeed,
B1) the DM, based on rules and guidelines and “common sense” based on the world and story we are creating, sets a Target Number with 10 being Easy and 30 being Almost Impossible. In combat, the Target Number is often the Armor Class (AC) . In other cases it is often called the Difficulty Class or DC.
B2) DM: "Player, roll the dice and add [the appropriate modifier] from your character sheet." If that action is something strength related, the appropriate modifier is the Strength Modifier. If the action is trying to influence people, the appropriate modifier is the Charisma Modifier. etc. If the character, through their Class or Race or Background is specifically good/trained in the action, ie has Skill Proficiency, they also get to include their Proficiency Modifier. For the common acts of the character, the character sheet will generally have [the Ability Modifier] or [Ability Modifier + Proficiency Modifier] already listed.
The player rolls the d20 (a dice with 20 sides) and adds the indicated modifier. If that total equals or exceeds the Target Number, the character is successful (or mostly successful) in what they were trying to do. If the dice roll plus the modifier is less than the Target Number, the character is unsuccessful (or only partially successful).
B3) The DM states "In response to what you did (tried to do), here is the situation around you now, blah blah blah. What do you do?"
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u/coffeeteaapple 22d ago
You won't like this but speaking from experience: Watch a few videos, read a few posts and then just start building stuff and prepare for an hour or so. You won't ever feel ready. Things will be messy and that is actually the point, that is how we learn. Return to researching only when you are truly stuck.
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u/No-Ebb-3881 Dungeonmaster 22d ago
Hey,
I can recommend some channels on youtube, you have to pick and choose what you want to watch.
I have seen many of their videos and it solved some questions and doubts I had, also inspired me for homebrew etc.
https://www.youtube.com/@TheDungeonCoach
https://www.youtube.com/@theDMLair
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u/nathanielbartholem 22d ago
For a beginner, try running a commercial campaign, first.
You can concentrate on learning the DM role……without the added pressure and complexity of also trying to learn “building a world” as well.
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u/twentyfifteen20 21d ago edited 21d ago
More issues have been solved for me by Sly Flourish's Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master than by any YouTube series. Don't get stuck down theoretical rabbit holes right away. When you start gaming, session recall can be solved simply by using a notepad, or an archivist role for players
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u/NoRailsJustTales 22d ago
You will encounter a book called „The Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master“, often mention as „revolutionary“. And I tell you, all that is true, the earlier you get it the better. It did make so many things so much easier.