I am new to DMing and was curious on any tips?

[BlueMoon1991]

I understand the basics. Im pretty good with storyline and ive been told the best thing you can do, is to go with the flow. Was curious on any tips for DMing?

[SaintNick]

Before your first session, you will want to get a copy of everyone's character sheet so you can review the rules involved with their abilities/spells. Looking up information mid-session can really drag down a game so being able to make the calls quickly can save a lot of time and help keep everyone in the game.

This is more of a personal opinion, but I always make sure to keep in mind that everyone is there to have fun. I like to strive to make memorable moments so I'm normally willing to stretch rules or change the game a bit to achieve that. I also like to make sure everyone has a time to shine. This is particularly important for players with characters that are not combat focused. I believe the worst thing that can happen during a game is having a player regretting the creation of his/her character.

[BlueMoon1991]

Before your first session, you will want to get a copy of everyone's character sheet so you can review the rules involved with their abilities/spells. Looking up information mid-session can really drag down a game so being able to make the calls quickly can save a lot of time and help keep everyone in the game.

This is more of a personal opinion, but I always make sure to keep in mind that everyone is there to have fun. I like to strive to make memorable moments so I'm normally willing to stretch rules or change the game a bit to achieve that. I also like to make sure everyone has a time to shine. This is particularly important for players with characters that are not combat focused. I believe the worst thing that can happen during a game is having a player regretting the creation of his/her character.


I would agree with that. Makes alot of sense. I wanna make sure people have fun! And i have also been taking into account of everyones character sheet ( still recruiting).
I had not thought so much on making sure the focus applied to different people so everyone can shine but i agree and it makes alot of sense! Thank you for the help and the advice!

[Sam K]

Set clear expectations. If you want to tell a story of the struggles of 4 downtrodden peasants trying to survive the winter, and your players want to play out the story of a band of gallant knights slaughtering orcs, someone is probably going to be frustrated. I find that 90% of all player/DM conflicts can be resolved if people set clear expectations and talk to each other.

Put yourself in your players shoes. As a DM, you will sometimes be in a position where you feel you are telling a great story, but the players seem grumpy anyway. Ask yourself if you would enjoy the story being told if you were a player in it, instead of the DM. As a DM, you own the story, but remember that the players need to feel they are contributing to it, and get a chance to let their characters shine and grow. Things to generally avoid is keeping the players in situations where they are constantly helpless and frustrated, depriving them of gear they need to function and having them constantly struggle just to maintain status quo. (please note: all of these things can be part of a great story, and some people enjoy that kind of game, but then make sure the players know what to expect from the game :)).

But remember to have fun as well :) DMing can be hard, but it can also be great fun. Make sure you don't DM in a way that leaves you feeling drained and uninspired to continue - even if your players are having fun, it's not a sustainable way to play.

Finally:

Don't make a DMPC - that is, a NPC that tags along with the party all the time and "helps" them solve problems by generally being more awesome than they are. Memorable NPCs are key to a good RPG, but they shouldn't out-shine the player characters.

[RFLS]

Let's see...

Have a session 0. This is the session where everyone sits down to discuss what they want out of the game (character creation optional). Things to talk about:


Table etiquette.
Genre and tone.
Party expectations.


That's by no means an exhaustive list, but those three are the bare minimum to figure out.

Even if you have a fairly linear road for the players to follow, be aware that they will get off track at some points. As such, prepare people and encounters as much as you prepare the plot. Have a list of goals and abilities for the important NPCs; this will tell you how they react if you have to ad lib.

Don't get attached to your NPCs. If you get attached to the PC's allies, then you might end up making them a DMPC - which is very hard to manage without annoying some number of your players. If you get attached to an antagonist, they will die, or you'll find ways for them to not die. If you're attached and it's the first one, that blows for you. If you're attached and it's the second one, see the point about DMPC allies.

Be willing to ad lib rules if you want to avoid breaking flow. Take a second to acknowledge it and commit to learning it for next time, but very few people will find taking a break from a climactic fight to look up rules to resolve an edge case fun.

And finally...the required reading. (https://imgur.com/EwiChyD)

Edit: pretty heavily swordsage'd.

[BlueMoon1991]

Set clear expectations. If you want to tell a story of the struggles of 4 downtrodden peasants trying to survive the winter, and your players want to play out the story of a band of gallant knights slaughtering orcs, someone is probably going to be frustrated. I find that 90% of all player/DM conflicts can be resolved if people set clear expectations and talk to each other.

Put yourself in your players shoes. As a DM, you will sometimes be in a position where you feel you are telling a great story, but the players seem grumpy anyway. Ask yourself if you would enjoy the story being told if you were a player in it, instead of the DM. As a DM, you own the story, but remember that the players need to feel they are contributing to it, and get a chance to let their characters shine and grow. Things to generally avoid is keeping the players in situations where they are constantly helpless and frustrated, depriving them of gear they need to function and having them constantly struggle just to maintain status quo. (please note: all of these things can be part of a great story, and some people enjoy that kind of game, but then make sure the players know what to expect from the game :)).

But remember to have fun as well :) DMing can be hard, but it can also be great fun. Make sure you don't DM in a way that leaves you feeling drained and uninspired to continue - even if your players are having fun, it's not a sustainable way to play.

Finally:

Don't make a DMPC - that is, a NPC that tags along with the party all the time and "helps" them solve problems by generally being more awesome than they are. Memorable NPCs are key to a good RPG, but they shouldn't out-shine the player characters.

Thank you very much for the help! I want to make the campaign as fun as I possibly can! In my last campaign ( wasnt DM) it kind of felt like i was the only one handling any fights or encounters because the others were either not interested or relied way to much on me.
In ways, i want to challenge the players. I dont want anyone to rely on just one person. I want there to be teamwork which is why I plan on implenting different encounters that suit both individal characters, storylines, or all characters to solve.
I have a story set out but i also want them to have to choice on wether they wish to follow it. I have layed out a couple of possibilites where they could still achieve it even if in a indirect way. Also have considered them just being able to do it for fun and not tackle it.
I dont plan on having any NPC's permantly follow! Like you said, i felt it might take away from the players and it doesnt seem fair. My main goal, is for people to have fun, to use their strengths and talents but to also develop good teamwork. I cant force them to, but I have hopes lol but thank you again :D

[BloodSnake'sCha]

I learned it the hard way.

Make shure you have a lot of options. Players have the EX ability to destroy your plans so you will need to find a way to move were you want without the things you planned.

Make sure you have that stats for everything you are going to use or a way to get them.

Know your player abilities, it will help you set things up and it will make things go faster(If you have a note with your caster spells you don't need to lose time for searching it).

Make sure your player know your red lines and you know their.
Example:
No one wants to be surprised by a group of drunk guards trying to sexually assault the bard(this can be a fun encounter if everyone are OK with it).

Ask your player before the start of the game if they are ok with that kind of stuff in order to use it yourself or stop them from doing stuff like it.

I will try to think on more stuff and will add them later but the guys above already gave you some great tips.

[SirNMN]

Don't make a DMPC - that is, a NPC that tags along with the party all the time and "helps" them solve problems by generally being more awesome than they are. Memorable NPCs are key to a good RPG, but they shouldn't out-shine the player characters.

Twice I have made a DMPC once was the biggest doing exactly that and was my biggest mistake. I killed him off to make of just how powerful the BBEG was, and it was the only time he made the party better was because they looted his corpse. The Second was a bard they followed the group and round did minor things to help out, cure out of combat, preform competence only unless asked, knowledge checks. The party didn't realizes the bards real purpose until they fishing for information and ask after the local gossip and it was the latest book that had just come out detailing there last quest. The bard was writing stories telling of their adventures.

[RFLS]

Twice I have made a DMPC once was the biggest doing exactly that and was my biggest mistake. I killed him off to make of just how powerful the BBEG was, and it was the only time he made the party better was because they looted his corpse. The Second was a bard they followed the group and round did minor things to help out, cure out of combat, preform competence only unless asked, knowledge checks. The party didn't realizes the bards real purpose until they fishing for information and ask after the local gossip and it was the latest book that had just come out detailing there last quest. The bard was writing stories telling of their adventures.

I really like that; I might steal it, to be honest.

[SirNMN]

I really like that; I might steal it, to be honest.

Feel free. Its fun and it says something about the world. One thing I had was all official bards had the freedom to cross all lands. They all carry a badge. They can be called to demonstrate theirs skill, but that is just background and unless the players dig into lore of the world they will never know. Just ensure that the party doesn't have a bard, and I would wait until at least level 3 or 4 for then gain the prestige to draw a bard to them.

So a couple of secret rolls. it would have been interesting if they had ever failed but they didn't I had the DC set to 10 for the skill of the bard, but feel free to ignore that if you don't want it.

[Troacctid]

Read the 5e version of the DMG. It has some really great advice that's not system-specific. I also like the DMG2 from 4e.

[Sam K]

Twice I have made a DMPC once was the biggest doing exactly that and was my biggest mistake. I killed him off to make of just how powerful the BBEG was, and it was the only time he made the party better was because they looted his corpse. The Second was a bard they followed the group and round did minor things to help out, cure out of combat, preform competence only unless asked, knowledge checks. The party didn't realizes the bards real purpose until they fishing for information and ask after the local gossip and it was the latest book that had just come out detailing there last quest. The bard was writing stories telling of their adventures.

To be honest, the second case doesn't really sound like a DMPC at all, it sounds like a NPC follower with his own agenda. Having some tag-alongs is fine (it can even help fill a gap in a party if noone wants to play a particular role), it goes into DMPC territory when the DM tries to give the NPC follower equal or more spotlight than the PCs, and/or when the NPC follower regularly outperforms the PCs in their area of expertise.

OP: You seem to have the right idea. Best of luck with the game, don't forget to come back and tell us how it turns out :)

Oh, a final piece of advice: if you're ever in a situation where you're starting a thread asking "Am I a jerk for doing X to my players?" err on the side of caution and don't do it!