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View Full Version : What I learned after the first session (Inexperienced DM and brand new players)



The Cats
2016-11-06, 02:50 PM
After many attempts at getting a group together and many disappointments, mostly due to scheduling, I've finally found some people who appear to be willing and able to play D&D with me consistently!

Some background on me:

I am the DM. I've played the same role in a short pathfinder campaign a few years ago and besides that have no practical experience either playing or running a tabletop game. I do have a bit of an obsessive trait when it comes to my hobbies so I've torn through the pathfinder rulebooks and campaign settings, planning adventures on paper even when I had no one to play with. When I discovered how streamlined 5e looked I thought it would be a good system to introduce new players to (since I have no acquaintances who have played before) and so tore through it with the same obsessiveness. Now I have people to play with and I am thrilled! We have only done a single session but things look good for the future.

The players:

My girlfriend was far more excited than I expected when I suggested the idea and has taken to the game very well. She is playing Xanthia, a wood-elf ranger whose home was destroyed, parents killed and little sister kidnapped by the armies of an invading human nation.

A friend from college is joining us as Anukn (the k is silent) a tiefling bard who grew up unloved and unsupported, learning how to con, grift and assorted other methods of ripping people off to survive.

A friend of my girlfriend's will be playing Dot Frottbottom (I asked, he knows exactly what frotting means) a gnomish wizard who was rescued from a life of petty crime by a quirky old wizard who mysteriously died/was killed/disappeared after teaching him the ways of the arcane.

My boss's husband has a little experience with 3.5e but he was kicked out of his old group after a couple sessions because they were frustrated with his inability to remember the rules. I think this was pretty unfair. He does have trouble retaining information (with good reason) but as long as someone can help him find things on his character sheet he's a great player.


The first session I had planned was supposed to be an introductory adventure with a little bit of everything: Interacting with NPCs, adventuring, combat, traps to introduce the concept of being careful, secrets to introduce the idea of looking deeper into things, encounters that are not super straightforward (violence is maybe not the best answer).

I know now that you guys are not exaggerating when you say no plan survives first contact with the PCs. It ended up being a showcase of how the characters take their chaotic neutral alignment seriously (yes, they all went chaotic neutral). They took the quest, then captured, interrogated and tried to seduce the bandit's lookout, then abandoned the quest, then accidentally led the bandits back to the quest giver resulting in his death, then, thanks to a series of amazing rolls, wiped the floor with the bandits! Unexpected, but still very fun.

What I learned:
I think I will focus less on a single area in my preparations for next session since they completely ignored the bandit hideout I put together. I was so convinced they would at least do some of the things I expected them to I didn't have much else prepared so had to improvise pretty much the whole session. After seeing how they play their characters I realize the plot hook of helping a poor village that is being harassed by a demonic cult won't do so I'll think of a few other ways to get them involved in the story. I doubt any of my plans will actually work out now but with enough ideas I hope to be able to cobble together something coherent when the time comes.

Next session I hope the players are more willing to interact with the NPCs as that is my favourite part of DMing. I mentioned that is was my favourite part at the end of the session so hopefully they take the hint.

What was your first DMing session like? How have you dealt with similar groups of players? Do you see, from the information I've given (scant I know), anything that you think I should have done differently?