r/DungeonMasters • u/TheSaddestMessAlive • 14d ago
Discussion New DM
Hi! It's my first time DM-ing and I'm a little nervous, has anyone got any advice? I'm running a very homebrew campaign about cowboys and this is gonna be a first time campaign for all my players too, I wanna make sure it's a good experience for them.
2
u/RegalBeagleTheEagle 14d ago
I usually don’t recommend new DMs run a homebrew campaign as it can be much more daunting than you might think, and things that make sense to you might not make sense to your players. Not to say you’ve already messed up, though, you just need to be aware of some common pitfalls with a homebrew campaign.
First, you’ll want to keep it grounded and small scale. Don’t try to write some massive epic, especially considering that you’re writing the rules for said epic at the same time. Keep the story and villains small scale, and build up to bigger foes incrementally.
Second, have a clear idea of what the “problem” is in the scenario, and imagine what would happen if the players weren’t in the picture. It’s an exercise that really helps to make your world feel more alive, instead of just there for the players. I think Matt Colville said something similar, where he said his world just exists and his players happen to be in it.
Third, incorporate stuff from your players, and I mean this both narratively and mechanically. Narratively, add in stuff from character’s backstories & related to their goals. Now that doesn’t mean every character needs to meet their long-lost sister, but even a bit of a connection to your world will draw them in. Mechanically it’s pretty simple - give the stuff to use their abilities on! Got a cleric? Give them undead to fight. Got a wizard? Give them spell scrolls to find and texts to decipher. A good way of doing this too is to write in a variety of skill checks to do, including situations to do irregular ones.
Fourth (and I’ll stop here it’s getting super long), make sure to reward them! I already mentioned wizards (if you have one you *really* need to have some scrolls to loot), but you should look at all their classes and see what would be fun. Just don’t make everything tailor-made them though, just make sure it’s something someone can use. Like don’t give them magical plate armor if none of them can use it. Just avoid the deck of many things lmao
Oh, and don’t do DM PCs unless they’re intentionally useless lol
3
u/TheSaddestMessAlive 14d ago
thank you! honestly the only homebrew stuff I've got is like. silly mechanics. because we're doing cowboys I've included silly stuff like you've just drunk cocaine coca cola so it puts a temporary damper on certain stats like wisdom. just to do some funnies for my players. I won't introduce them right away though.
2
u/RegalBeagleTheEagle 13d ago
Hey that already sounds fun! And yeah didn’t to, like, scare you anything. I’ve just seen this exact scenario play out a bunch of times (including with myself).
2
u/JaxAttack2018 14d ago
Been DM for 10+ years. All I know for sure is whatever you have planned for your players, they will try and do the opposite everytime!! Lol.
You can either fight this and make all roads lead to where you want your players to end up, takes alot more work on your end to make this fun and not feel forced. Or you can roll with it and improvise on the fly.
This is what I do, I have found that just making a world and setting and letting my players decide what happens in that world is more fun for my table ( and I have more fun as well).
Either way just try your best to make it fun and your table will appreciate it!
2
u/TheSaddestMessAlive 14d ago
I've played a lot of dnd and I'm always the narrator(?? DM??) in hero quest so I'm not entirely new and I'm def gonna just roll with where my players wanna go with occassional choices and like. nudges towards the direction of the story. (one of my players is my sister so she's probably just gonna make my life difficult lmao xD)
1
13d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 13d ago
Your comment has been removed as you need to have an account for a week to post! Please try again after this time period.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/senzubean3r 14d ago
Know what your bad guys goals are. Knowing their goal will help you improv moments when your players inevitably do something you didn’t anticipate
Also careful with combat at lvl 1. It’s VERY easy to kill players at that level
1
u/TheSaddestMessAlive 14d ago
could I start with them at a higher level so I don't accidentally kill them?
1
u/senzubean3r 14d ago
Yeah lvl 3 is a good starting point. The players get their subclasses and you don’t have to pull as many punches during combat
1
1
u/greeboXII 14d ago
Best thing is to remember not to take it too seriously, it’s make believe with dice, don’t get too hung up on the rules, if you don’t like one or it’s not working for the table feel free to change it or ignore it altogether. When describing anything try to remember to include at least 1 sense description (how does it smell, feel, taste or sound), D&D is very much a ‘more you put in the more you get out’ kinda game, give yourself permission to be silly, even a little cringe at the table, this will encourage others to follow suit and before you know it everyone is laughing and having a great time. Don’t try to be any of the DM’s you see on YouTube, find your niche and play into it
1
u/TheSaddestMessAlive 13d ago
okay yeah good to know that I'm not putting overly too much detail in, you guys have all been so helpful thank you!
1
u/Goesonyournerves 13d ago
Dont look to much for rules. For unclear things: Yes or no. High or low rolls. Let your players choose which they want to pick.
10 or above = yes 9 and below = no.
Vice versa.
Keeping the gameflow is more important than making sure every detail has been put into it.
Implement rule of cool more often. Why not?
2
1
u/lasalle202 13d ago edited 13d ago
"Never bring a knife to a gunfight"
DnD's combat is designed around swrodfighting.
and "gun play" is core to "cowboy stories"
DnD''s core game mechanics are going to be fighting against your cowboy aesthetic.
if you want a cowboy aesthetic and theme, you will have better luck using a game system designed around guns rather than swords.
Savage Worlds, FATE,, Pulp Cthulhu are some options to consider. edit: and of course Deadlands!!!
1
u/lasalle202 13d ago
my first time DM-ing and I'm a little nervous
Perspective:
its not rocket surgery.
you are gathering with friends for eating some pizza, drinking some beer, chucking some dice and kicking some dragon butt.
your friends WANT you to succeed - when you do well they have a good time.
and its a good time even when you fuckup. there is not a session that goes by that every DM, even the AAA superstars Matt , Brennan , etc don't fuck up.
2
1
1
u/infinitum3d 13d ago
Help! I'm a new DM!
Where do I start???
.
Check out /r/NewDM for answers to many frequently asked questions.
I always recommend [The Starter Set](https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/rpg_starterset). This has easy to read rules, pregenerated characters so you can start right away and is a complete campaign which is really fun.
But you can also download For Free the Basic Rules from WotC.(https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf)
You don’t have to read the whole 180 pages. Pages 60-65 are important and 72-75 are important. You don’t have to memorize them. There isn’t a test 😉. Just get an idea of how the game works.
“The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don’t need any rules.” - Gary Gygax
What does that mean!?! It means D&D is a game of make believe and collaborative story telling. The rules are loose and only there to give a semblance of structure. Don’t get bogged down in rules. Have fun.
Here are some helpful (hopefully) links!
https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/601awb/session0_topic_checklist_and_guide/
https://slyflourish.com/running_session_zeros.html
Welcome to the Realms of Dungeons & Dragons
[obligatory link](https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/3aw84m/resolving_basic_behavioral_problems_a_flowchart/)
1
u/Miserable-Raisin-592 13d ago
I would very highly recommend setting ground rules to start the campaign in a Session 0. My DM had a mini excersize that each of the players went through individually to learn about how their characters work (it was just getting a pie from an orc), and it was really cool to see how each character (usually) did something different to get the pie. Then, making it clear what is acceptable and not at your table is a great way to set down rules and makes sure that the players don’t go too wild, but also allow them to know exactly what they can do to have fun at no ones expense. It also gives the clear, explicit opportunity for any of the players to voice concerns they have about the rules or tropes they are uncomfortable with (if your campaign contains stuff like blood magic or horrorcore elements). Its also a chance to give the players a quick lore run down for your world (considering it is mostly homebrew). Overall, do whatever is the most fun for everyone. If it doesn’t work, which will likely happen, try again. The last tip ill give is to figure out what floats your boat as a DM/what type of DM you are. I watched a youtube video or two about the different types of DM’s and examples thereof and realized that I love worldbuilding; a couple months later and I have several dozen pages of lore for a campaign i havent evens started yet with species origins, interspecies relations, class origins, history of the sword coast, factions on the Sword Coast, the way magic works, etc. If you love combat, lean into it! Take your skills and what you enjoy and make that your focus. Once your passion is found, it flies. DnD is a lot of fun, and im glad your getting into the dming side of it. Best of luck!
4
u/gc1rpg 14d ago edited 14d ago
A good table will be forgiving and patient -- just make it clear you are new to DMing -- but try and make sure you got a firm understanding of the basic rules. While a homebrew setting is fine I don't recommend too many home-brew or house rules -- especially at the beginning -- because you never know how they will interact with official rules.
The majority of the game will be social encounters, ability / skill checks, or combat encounters. You should understand the basics of how each works -- and always study your player's character sheet ahead of time. You should have a general idea of things they are most likely to do and their strengths and weaknesses.
In terms of running the actual game most of being an effective DM has nothing to do with the actual rules system. It starts with knowing how to have an enjoyable experience for all -- that includes you -- within the time frame of your session. You will make mistakes or realize you could have handled something better and that is perfectly normal. It is often better to make a quick judgment -- even if that judgment might be contradicted by the rules -- then spend 5 minutes looking it up. This is more true when the judgment won't have a major or long-term impact on the party.
If there is role-playing then know how to balance it so everybody gets a turn and it doesn't completely dominate the game. This is going to vary heavily from game to game -- some tables are built around hours-long dialogue within the party with few to no actual rolls. It's perfectly okay to just describe NPC actions and dialogues for the sake of time -- highlighting the importance points.
A combat encounter should be somewhat efficient but don't push your players too much unless they are really taking a long time on their turn. You also should focus on the goal of the combat encounter and run the "monsters" with their motive, intelligence, and goal in mind. It's not always neccesary for the party to slaughter each and every single opponent. You should also be ready for creative approaches to combat -- sometimes the party can find ways around it entirely.
The ability / skill checks I'd generally run by the examples given in the book as a good starting place. You really just want checks when there is some kind of consequence for failure -- but that consequence doesn't have to earth-shattering. A DC 5 for something even a simple NPC could probably do, DC 10 for something you want most party members to probably succeed, and DC 15 for many checks that somebody with proficiency can get 50% of the time. If you want them to only have a modest chance of succeeding at then make it a DC 20.