First time DM

[yilduz]

So, I've been looking for a DM the past couple of weeks because I know of up to six other people interested in playing D&D. None of them want to be a DM, of course, so I've been searching for one unsuccessfully (wow, that word has consecutively repeating letters three times). I did find one guy that said he may be interested, but only wanted five players max, and would only DM 4E. Well, we'd be a group of six to seven, and everyone wants to play 3.5.

Anyway, my wife (one of the players) said that maybe I should try being the DM. I have a lot of the books, I've been playing the game for about seven years, and have a great understanding of the rules, and she said she thinks it would be an interesting game. The problem is that I've never been a DM before.

She went and told the group that she's trying to get me to DM and now I'm getting text messages from the other players saying they'd be ready to go tomorrow if I decide to DM. Now I'd feel like kind of a jerk if I flat out said no. I think I may be up to the challenge of giving it a shot, but I'm here to ask some of you seasoned veterans for advice.

So, what can you suggest to someone that has never been a DM before? Whether it's general or specific, I'd like to know what tips you may have for me. I doubt I'll be running a campaign tomorrow, but I may have the group get together to roll characters and stuff like that.

[WrstDmEvr]

I suggest you take a look at AKA Bait's guide to DMing. There's some really useful advice there.

[monty]

Your user name in this thread amuses me.

[arkol]

It would be a good start to sit down with your players and agree with what are you all looking for.

This includes, but is not limited to:

What books or even types of game features (say... psionics for exemple) you guys want to include.
Power level of the starting players. No need for a specific level but just knowing if you're going low level, mid levels, epic...
What do the players and the dm expect from the game? Maybe the group is looking for somethign specific like... a campaign involving undead. Or maybe they want just a dungeon crawl, or a political/intrigue game, or whatever. Maybe they want a whole world created which they can explore or maybe their content with exploring the city of Citysville and it's countryside.
Do they prefer to follow your plot or to find a plot on their own?
And so on....

Give the DMG a good read. I mean skip all the stuff about rules which you probably already know, but read the basic stuff on how to actually DM. Play a on-off short pre-made module to get the hang of it. Tell your players that you need a first experience to get the hang of it. It's easier when most of the job is already done for you, so you have much less to worry about...

[AslanCross]

You have the advantage of starting with knowledge of the rules and the game; I started DMing without any experience outside of Baldur's Gate 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2.

I agree that one of the major things you have to do is to put together an agreement with your players as to what all of you agree you want in the game. Do you allow supplementary systems like psionics, Tome of Battle, and Incarnum? What kind of story do you want to have, what setting you want to use, etc. It is this agreement that is the foundation of the game---everyone needs to have fun, even the DM.

How new are the players? Depending on how experienced they are, you might have to adjust accordingly. Starting people off with the Tomb of Horrors is just...not right.

If possible, get the more experienced players to help out the newer ones so they'll feel more comfortable.

Starting with a published adventure is usually recommended. I didn't start this way myself (and as such had numerous problems and lots of stress preparing). Wizards of the Coast has a bunch of free PDF adventures on their website which you could start with, as well as numerous books from third party sources. Some of the book adventures are also really good; I'm currently running Red Hand of Doom right now and all of us are really enjoying it. It might not necessarily be an ideal adventure for starters, but it's generally accepted to be one of the better published adventures out there.

[yilduz]

Thank you, everyone. I've read through the posts in this thread and through the thread that was linked. It has given me a lot to think about, watch for, and ask the players.

I think we're all gathering tomorrow evening to create characters, and while we're doing that I'll ask them the questions you guys have said would be good to ask (their goals and plans for the campaign, how they like to play, type of character they intend to create, etc). Between now and then I'll also decide which books will be allowed. I'm definitely not using psionics though, it doesn't fit the theme of my campaign ideas.

I guess I'll get to work figuring out what the first couple of sessions will be like and which books/house rules I'll allow.

Thanks, everyone. Though I'll still be lingering through the forums tonight and tomorrow before my group gathers, so if anyone else has any pearls of wisdom, I'd still like to read them.

[evil-frosty]

Have fun. As a DM this is your ultimate responsibility. If gameplay is going slow and it seems like people are getting bored try to speed things up. And handwave pointless things that they would otherwise normally have to roll for. But dont handwave everything that takes away some of the fun(for me at least i love playing with my dice)

[RebelRogue]

You've already got a good hold on the rules, which is a good thing for DMing 3.5, as you might otherwise end up in rule discussions (those will probably happen eventually anyway, in which case you should be ready to just make a ruling, move on and read up on it later). Also, if possible keep it at a relatively low level. Not because it's necessarily more comlicated as such, but because higher level 3.5 chars have a lot of potentially plot-screwing powers and spells available that might catch you flatfooted (so to speak ) as an inexerienced DM. Also, I echo the suggestion of picking one of the many free adventures available at Wizards' home page and run that as a starting adventure, just to get started (or perhaps even a "real" published adventure or larger campaign, but that'll require more work). Read everything carefully in advance, so that you know the stuff and then go for it. After a few sessions of running that, you will be in much better shape for creating your own stuff.

[SoD]

Just stressing what has allready been said; I personally would say start off with 4 different books in use; PhB for them, plus DMG and MMI for you. What's book number four, I hear you ask? Whatever adventure you choose to run.

For a first one, I would reccomend Scourge of the Howling Horde, an adventure for first level people (making it easier for both them, and you), which pits them against; goblins, hobgoblins, a feindish spider and a teeny-tiny black dragon called Noak.

It's where I first started, and I loved it, as did my players. It also provides possible future adventures, including a more power Noak if you want to use her as a reoccuring villian if she escapes alive.