First time Dming, any suggestions?

[rtc143]

I'm running my first D&D game soon and was wondering if anyone wanted to share some suggestions with me about DMing well.

[drengnikrafe]

Don't run your PCs into the same monsters more then twice in a row. Twice is acceptable, but pushing it. At 4 times your PCs may rebel.

BBEGs level up as the party does.

Don't plan the entire campaign ahead of time. Be ready to roll with the punches. PCs love to derail things.

Don't be sad if it only lasts one session. A lot of campaigns never take the second step.

Have your most experienced DM (and 2nd most experienced DM, if applicable) join the party. After the session, ask him/her/them how you did, and for suggestions on what you did wrong. Reflection is easier then prediction, when it comes to mistakes.

[Ascension]

Check out this thread!

[drengnikrafe]

Check out this thread!

I award you ten points of Win for thinking logically, and being the first to do so.

[The Glyphstone]

If you haven't already thought of it, I'd strongly suggest using a premade adventure to start out with. Even if you've got a campaign idea of your own built up, it's always a good idea to start out with a simple premade - I believe the standard 4E starter adventure is Keep On The Shadowfell, and the wizards website has a bunch of short 3.5 adventures in the 3.5 Archives. You can always tie the premade into your custom game plotline at the end...the featured mini-BBEG has a message in his pocket from your own BBEG or something.

[Raum]

I'm running my first D&D game soon and was wondering if anyone wanted to share some suggestions with me about DMing well.

Are you looking for anything in particular? If not, there are several books out there, advice in most game guides (DMG for D&D, base book for many other systems), and the thread Ascension mentioned.

Don't run your PCs into the same monsters more then twice in a row. Twice is acceptable, but pushing it. At 4 times your PCs may rebel.

This may depend on genre - play a zombie survival game and you should expect to see lots of zombies, a Buffy game will see lots of vampires, etc.

BBEGs level up as the party does.

Don't plan the entire campaign ahead of time. Be ready to roll with the punches. PCs love to derail things.

This is worth reiterating. As a rule, don't plan any more than you're willing to rewrite. Frankly I tend to plan goals rather than plots. The adversary can change his 'plot' of how he reaches the goal when the PCs interfere far easier than I can keep PCs following a scripted plot. This does depend on the players though, some are happier following a script. Know your players.

Don't be sad if it only lasts one session. A lot of campaigns never take the second step.

Really? I hadn't realized this was common outside of PbP games. That does bring up a point though, know the limitations and advantages of whatever medium you use for gaming.

Have your most experienced DM (and 2nd most experienced DM, if applicable) join the party. After the session, ask him/her/them how you did, and for suggestions on what you did wrong. Reflection is easier then prediction, when it comes to mistakes.

I'd ask all the players (individually), not just the most experienced. Ask what you can improve and what they'd like to see as well.

[drengnikrafe]

This may depend on genre - play a zombie survival game and you should expect to see lots of zombies, a Buffy game will see lots of vampires, etc.

Okay, I can easily agree to that point, but it still takes pulling it off correctly. Zombies in different settings can be fun. Zombies in a desert over and over is dull. It takes some finesse (sp?) to properly use the same enemy over and over, and it is something that you probably shouldn't try on your very first time DMing.

I'd ask all the players (individually), not just the most experienced. Ask what you can do to improve and what they'd like to see.

This is also very true. But, what I meant when I said what I said was that the Experienced DM can tell you from a DM angle what you did wrong (or could do better). But, as you say, asking all your players is the best way to go. Good thinking, Raum.

[Raum]

Okay, I can easily agree to that point, but it still takes pulling it off correctly. Zombies in different settings can be fun. Zombies in a desert over and over is dull. It takes some finesse (sp?) to properly use the same enemy over and over, and it is something that you probably shouldn't try on your very first time DMing.

Agreed. Make each encounter uniquely interesting in some way. Different monsters work for a while but also consider other ways to make the encounter unique...terrain, time constraints, hostage protection, ambush, assassination, or a requirement to capture instead of kill are just a few of the possibilities.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Agreed. Make each encounter uniquely interesting in some way. Different monsters work for a while but also consider other ways to make the encounter unique...terrain, time constraints, hostage protection, ambush, assassination, or a requirement to capture instead of kill are just a few of the possibilities.

Not only that, but a zombie isn't a zombie. You can have umpteen variations on zombie if you wish, just by tweaking things.

[Akisa]

Don't run your PCs into the same monsters more then twice in a row. Twice is acceptable, but pushing it. At 4 times your PCs may rebel.

BBEGs level up as the party does.

Don't plan the entire campaign ahead of time. Be ready to roll with the punches. PCs love to derail things.

Don't be sad if it only lasts one session. A lot of campaigns never take the second step.

Have your most experienced DM (and 2nd most experienced DM, if applicable) join the party. After the session, ask him/her/them how you did, and for suggestions on what you did wrong. Reflection is easier then prediction, when it comes to mistakes.

What else are you suppose to throw at them in a Kobold cave?

[Cheesegear]

What else are you suppose to throw at them in a Kobold cave?

If they're expecting a Kobold cave. Fine. Then pull out some underdark critters that the kobolds might use as food or warbeasts. Some of the kobolds could have mounts. Maybe the kobolds have class levels and can summon stuff...Be creative. Then you could throw in a 'Kobold Master' which is likely a low-level daemon, or a Draconian/Dragonborn. Dragons are always good too.

If the players are expecting a 'glorious underdark adventure', and all's you're throwing at them is kobolds...You're doing something wrong.

If you absolutely must have a DMPC (which I suggest you don't if you're an amateur), don't let him take over the party.

[PnP Fan]

I would recommend that you just don't do it. Don't run your first game. Once you've done it, your perspective on the game changes. You will develop 'standards' by which you judge other's games and DMing skills. If you enjoy running a game, you may have difficulty letting go, and want to DM all the time instead of play. Or worse yet, you'll interject your DMing skills into a game that someone else is running, becoming thoroughly annoying to that DM, and likely everyone at the table. You'll have to deal with smart alec players who crack jokes directed at whatever it is you've cooked up for their entertainment! Then you'll try harder to get them to take it seriously, all the while discovering that they'll crack jokes no matter how hard you try. That experienced DM? Your worst enemy, because he'll argue, and complain about every call you make. Then there's that player who just doesn't get it and complains because your villains do intelligent things, like gang up on his wizard first. Then you'll have to play the diplomat because two or more of your players are behaving like jerks and ruining everyone's good time, but they're all your friends, so you don't want to kick anyone out. So you have to be the adult and make everyone take their a$$hat off at the door, even if you have nothing to do with the dispute.

And no one will thank you, even if they had fun, no one will thank you.

So, my advice is that if that paragraph scares or annoys you (all taken from RL, face to face gaming), or is in the least bit intimidating, don't be a GM.

[valadil]

Have fun. Make sure your players have fun. Your players are more important than your story, but they shouldn't stop you from having fun either.

That's it really.

[Kaihaku]

Check out this thread!

Sigh, I wish I had had that thread back when I DMed any of my Dungeon Masters DMed for the first time.

[daggaz]

What else are you suppose to throw at them in a Kobold cave?

I had a great troglodyte cave that answers that question. (kobolds, trogs, whatever).

Besides the main residents, it had

-giant leeches
-monstrous spiders
-monstrous scorpions
-a choker
-violet fungus and scarlet fungus working in unison
-some myconids
-a few darkmantles.

Think ecosystems. Caves are more fun if the monsters eat eachother as well as your adventurers. Things make more sense, there are natural puzzles to piece together, your players will usually appreciate it.

[Nohwl]

dont favorite a player. ive played in games where there was one and it was annoying. keep things relatively fair. you have 2 players standing next to a monster? roll to determine who it attacks.

if a player hasnt done much all game make them useful. its not fun coming to a session just to fail at everything you attempt or coming and not really getting a chance to play.

dont use a dmpc. they get annoying after a while. the best part of the last game i was in was when the dmpc left the party.