First time DM

[quark12000]

Hi all. I'm getting ready to run the one-shot 'We Be Goblins' this Saturday, and I'm nervous as heck. Any tips or pointers?

Hmm. Tried to add the Pathfinder tag. Not working.

[Zaq]

Here's the very most important thing I can tell you: you WILL screw up, and that's okay.

Let me say it again. You WILL screw up, and that's okay.

GMing is a hard skill, and it is indeed a skill that must be learned. You won't get it perfect on the first try. Or on the tenth try, for that matter. But that's okay. These are your friends you're playing with. Ask for feedback, own your mistakes without getting defensive, keep the game moving as best as you can, and just roll with it.

Great GMing takes a careful mix of preparation and improvisation. You've gotta do enough homework to know what to present, but you've gotta be able to adapt on the fly to things you didn't think of in advance. I don't know which one of those will come more naturally to you, but if you're just starting out, try to prep as much as you reasonably can without killing yourself—but don't get mad at yourself when something comes up that you've gotta improvise. It'll happen. (You know the saying "no plan survives contact with the enemy," right? When GMing, remember that no plot survives contact with the PCs.)

Honestly, sometimes you'll even have to call for a mulligan if something just completely bombs. I've been GMing 4e on and off for years, and just a few sessions ago I had what I thought was a really cool encounter cooked up (unique monsters, super dynamic environment, etc.). The party basically hated it and couldn't really deal with it properly, at least part of which was my fault (and I hadn't considered that there were two replacement characters who had just joined the party, so they weren't fully up to speed yet), so I basically had to refund them some of the resources they spent in the encounter in order to keep the rest of the dungeon fair, fun, and challenging. You don't want to do this more than you have to, but sometimes you just plain have to, and it's okay as long as you learn from it. (This wasn't me going easy on them or pulling punches—this is me correcting an imbalance so I wouldn't have to go easy on them for the rest of the dungeon.)

Prep as much as you can, but accept that you're going to have to learn by doing, and mistakes are going to creep in. Keep your eyes and ears open, get as much feedback as you reasonably can from your players, and understand that improvement is going to come with practice.

[Pugwampy]

One thing newbie DM ,s fall for is book recommended balance which only works if your players are 10 years old . If they are older your monsters will die in under 2 rounds .
Give your monsters double or even triple hp or give them a higher level . Players can handle up to 3 times their level . If you are afraid of being too strong just make sure the players have an escape route and remind them to run.


Another very useful thing is high/low rolls to settle all wierd and wonderful questions. Eg.
DM can I do so and so funny thing or can I buy this wierd item . DM rolls Vs player to settle arguments.

Don't get too attached to your monsters , basically your monster are there to die eventually or immediately .

Dont forget you are there to have fun too . Mess with them a bit . You don't have to follow any dnd rule if you think it gives more admin or less fun Make up an easier rule . You wanna do something funny and there is no rule for it , make one up

Make the encounter itself interesting . Sure you could have 5 gobs with spears or instead three gobs with spears or two archer gobs or 4 gobs and one boss gob with a magic goodie equipped .

Decorate your battle field . There are thousands of cool toys and I bet you have some old toys to decorate your battlefield

You are an entertainer , crack some jokes , make them laugh . If they are laughing they are having a good time. Be a drama queen , make funny faces and noises do a silly dance . Describe gory details of monster about to die .
If a player misses tell player he shaved off some toe hairs . Or he ripped a hole in goblin pants , it's nice breezy done there , thanks bro , thumbs up.

[Zombimode]

One thing newbie DM ,s fall for is book recommended balance which only works if your players are 10 years old . If they are older your monsters will die in under 2 rounds .
Give your monsters double or even triple hp or give them a higher level . Players can handle up to 3 times their level . If you are afraid of being too strong just make sure the players have an escape route and remind them to run.

Yeah, no.
DON'T do this.
In fact don't give in the temptation to fiddle with the rules until you really KNOW what you are doing.

Instead work with what the game provides you with. See what works for you. See what doesn't work.

DON'T base your expectations and knowledge purely on what you read in Forums. There is valuable Information in Forums but there is also a lot of stuff that needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Don't loose track of your vision. Having a clear vision of what you are trying to do is very important for the DM.

[Pugwampy]

Rules are written by corporate slaves . They are not perfect . If rules give you more admin or killing the fun , they need modifying. You are DM , the rules are there to help YOU , to make your life easier not the other way around . If you dont like something , change it . If you want a funny house rule GO FOR IT !!!