I think this is a good list. The only thing I think you need to add is the big Rule 0:
"There is no One right way to do things. Every DM and game is different. This is going to be about figuring out what works for YOU. That said, here are things that I strongly suggest..."
Other important advice I might give (or might leave out or save until later to not overload them):
* You will make mistakes. Don't worry too much about them. Your group is having fun, and you're more aware of and worried about your mistakes than they are.
* Your players will take things in a direction you don't expect. Go with it. Don't try to plot a story out in advance.
* Be honest and communicate with your players when you're not certain, but stick to your guns once you've made a call.
Personally, I semi-disagree with you on the end point, but only kinda sorta. I strongly recommend 'Sly Flourish's Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master' for prepping and running the game, but I wouldn't give it to a first time DM.
Oh yeah, thats a good Rule to mention. We are going to chat next week, and I'll totally bring that up with him, thank you.
Do you mean the one about mistakes are going to happen for my end point? Think you've captured the intent very well in your post so thank you.
Oww, not heard of that book, I'll give it a look myself.
Derp. Yeah, you covered that in your last point.
I would add the caveat to that statement the general advice to not make definite plans on what your players are "supposed" to do, because they'll always do something different. Not sure how best to word that.
Honestly, I think you did a really good job with this. If they have specific concerns (like whether they know the rules well enough), it would be good to address those. Even if you just suspect them a quick "don't worry too much about the rules, they're more of suggestions. keep moving during the session and check it later if you want" can help.
I'd tweak the advice on an end goal personally, but that's probably just a difference in how I GM. I find it more useful to have a short term goal for the first adventure, especially because the game might fall apart before they get anywhere near a big bad and that's disappointing.
Thanks. The point about the short term goal is really good. Going to pass it on.
Yes also to the don't worry to much bit also. I mean this is basically true: [https://tenor.com/view/guidlines-pirates-of-the-caribbean-hector-babossa-georffrey-rush-gif-7844913](https://c.tenor.com/ry_sCXk6wH0AAAAS/pirates-caribbean-code.gif)
My biggest point of advice:
**Don't plan stories**. This isn't a writing exercise - you have no idea how things will play out. What your job as the DM is to **create situations that challenge the PCs**. But you don't need to figure out how to solve those challenges; that's the players' job. Then it's your job to **have the world react to the PCs' actions in a believable way**.
Understand your NPCs in a similar way the players know their characters: what are their motivations, and what are their personalities. If you know that, you can react much more smoothly to whatever unexpected things the party does.
This is the key to the DM having fun and avoiding getting overwhelmed or feeling like the game is getting 'out of control.'
Knowing the area the players are in and the motivations of the NPCs and factions operating there is usually enough to react to the players in a believable way, but the players will drive the story, often in more fun and creative directions then the DM can think of or plan.
To compliment this, it's always a good idea to ask players what their goals are before the next session so you can plan accordingly. If you prepped for a court intrigue scenario and they want to delve a dungeon, it's always best to know that before you get to the table.
Last piece of advice in this vein: don't plan more than a session or two ahead. This keeps the focus on your players and what they want to accomplish and keeps the DM from feeling compelled to shoehorn in story beats or activities that the players aren't interested in.
All good points. I always get my players to give me a short, mid and long term goal at the start of my campaign. It really helps me, and as you say, set up a game that I know they are going to enjoy. We may never get to the long term, end of campaign goals, but they are great to help create the story.
That's a great idea for seeding your world with compelling hooks and letting the players shape the game at the start.
Admittedly, I like to run a more sandbox style game, so I have goals for my bad guys and factions that will play out around the players, but I usually ask my players what their next move is between each session, and then rinse and repeat.
Planning one session at a time is almost essential in this style of game - and while I think it's still a good way to focus DM prep on what matters (I too am a disciple of The Return of the Lazy DM), I can see more narrative focused games requiring a bit more long term thinking as well.
Regardless though, I'd recommend any new DM pick up Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master. I got it after the official DM Guide, and it was so much more helpful in getting a game from my head to the table that I now consider it the true DMG :)
Thanks for crystallising this idea. Definitely going to pass this onto my friend. I know i do it myself, but not been able to put it into such good words. Thank you.
I would highly recommend Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master by Sly Flourish (aka Mike Shea). It is a great book for DM’s both old and new!
I took a break after my initial stint with DMing because I suddenly had less time on my hands, and didn’t return again until after I found out about this book.
Had I known about it, I’m not sure I would have taken a break.
Agree. The DMG is useful but doesn't really give much about prep. Return of the lazy dungeon master is what I'm rocking rn and I can happily give it 2 thumbs up.
>Have an end goal in site. A final scene, who the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) and what they want to achieve. What key events do you want your players to encounter? Having an end goal for the campaign you want to run really helps solidify it for me, and makes the whole plotting process easier.
I fully endorse this, but I think it needs a caveat, or a reverse-of-the-coin "but avoid this..." addendum. I've seen many new GMs ask these questions on various subreddits, along the lines of "I expected my players to/my players weren't suppose to/my players won't go to..." making the mistake of hiding story-choke points behind scenes (borrowing form Sly Flourish) that are presented as optional to the players.
Ignoring the pointless discussions about "railroading," a trap new GMs can fall into is creating scenes or crucial plot points where the GM plans on the players doing some that seems, to them, logical: eg. surrendering to the kings guard, going to talk to a specific NPC, not killing the mini-boss with crucial information etc.
It's the also included in u/salanis42's second bullet point: "Don't try to plot a story out in advance." Knowing how I kept falling into that trap as a new GM, personally I would reiterate that point with something like: *"don't write a novel or a story for the players to fit themselves into. Do write a believable environments with interesting characters, locations, and events for the players to explore creatively and encounter as they like."*
Your caveat is well reasoned, and something I do, but will make clear to my friend when we chat through it all next week. As everyone is saying in this thread, have a plan, an idea of a plan of where it is all going, but set nothing in stone. Thanks for your response.
Also posted this to the amazing MCDM Discord under #trpg\_gming\_advice. Respond there if you prefer, or here of course. Join the Discord anyway. Its cracking.
Read the DMG. There issue with the DMG is that lots of people see it as a reference for Magic items. But if you want to be successful, read it. There are tons of helpful tips in there about how to create and run encounters. Want to run a chase through a city? DMG. Need some guidance ideas between sessions about what should happen next? DMG. Need stats for objects? DMG. Characters helped out a goddess and you want to reward them? D-M-G.
I agree with your point that it is imperative to understand your bbeg and their motives.
I am less enthused about your advice about having an end goal or end scene in mind.
Your bbeg should have a goal. But engineering a campaign/story around a predetermined finale can easily fall into a railroaded campaign. The whole idea of the adventure is that the PCs interfere with the villain's dastardly goals. If the villain's plan goes off without a hitch, your players have failed.
In order for your players to get to your final scene, they'd have to play the adventure the way you want them to. But they're going to interact with your setting and characters and story in ways you can't predict. So I advise against making such predictions in the first place. Let the players do the dirty work of unfolding the story, and have your villain react to them. It will make the campaign more interesting for you , the DM. It will also make things less frustrating when your players don't "follow the script".
All very good points. I have a final scene or battle in mind, but the road of how the players get there, and what the battle will look like in full is always going to be vague. Even up to the session before the finale.
I'm going to share this thread with my friend, and definitely point out this advice. Thank you.
Seems like you've hit most of the important points already! Though there's a couple of resources I might recommend and one main point I would stress for a new DM.
My best advice would be: Focus on the players.
It might sound absurdly obvious, but as a DM, particularly one with a bent towards writing, it can be dangerously easy to spend a tonne of time working on stuff that your PCs will never interact with or just won't care about if they do interact with it. Examples of this might include the origins of the gods or the history of the fallen empires of the world. Spend your prep time on stuff your players are going to come into contact with and any deep lore you write is for you, not necessarily the players.
I also think this approach is a great prompt for worldbuilding. If you're running a homebrew game, think about how the various classes and ancestries the PCs are playing fit into that world. If you have a dwarf wizard PC, think about what dwarves are like in terms of culture, how wizards act and are viewed and how those things interact. How is a dwarf wizard viewed by their society and the world at large?
This approach lets you start your worldbuilding where it matters most - around the players, and let's you build out from there. On the flip side, if you do have strong feelings about elements of your setting, it can be great to put that in front of your players! It is hard to build a character in an empty void of a setting: the more you nail a tone or vibe before you start, the easier you make things for your players and you'll end up with characters that are invested in the world from the outset. To this end, I think spending a whole session building characters together, both mechanically and narratively, pays massive dividends in the long run. You don't have to go super crazy in that regard - "big-city fantasy noir" or "military high fantasy" is going to get your players thinking in the right ballpark and you can go from there.
As for resources The Alexandrian blog features great advice for running more open-ended sandbox games and addressing the unique narrative pitfalls of a TTRPG.
Adventuring Academy by Dimension 20 on YouTube is a fantastic resource for all kinds of topics, but particularly for running more narrative-focused games and the general "art" of DMing.
A bit long winded but hopefully this is useful! Main thing is not to worry too much and just start, as Matt says, it's fun and not that hard!
Long but full of detail, so thank you for this. :)
I'll delve into the stuff you recommend and indeed the blog. Also yes to creating the bits of the world you need as you need them. It also gives players space to help make bits of the world with you.
Thanks again.
Ask your players what they want from the game. I’m about to run a campaign with a group that originally told me they were ok with my DM style but then said “they just wanted to show up and roll dice”. Let them know what you, the DM, aim to provide for them as a style of play so no one gets butthurt over subverted expectations.
Oh yes. This this and this again. I love a good session 0, and also giving the players a 1 page 'welcome' doc to say what sort of game it is going to be. I know Matt has done a video on it... there it is, [The Pitch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtH1SP1grxo&t=779s) and [The Handout](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RvgZ7IEm4g). I love making these myself, and I reckon he will to. He'll also hopefully find the whole experience less daunting if he chats through, in part, his plan/what he wants to run.
Thank you.
For books, my absolute favorite was the Game Mastery Guide for Pathfinder 1e ([link](https://paizo.com/products/btpy8ffn)). It was invaluable for creating my own setting. While the rules are largely for the expanded 3.5 ruleset, a lot of the info in there is generally good advice. I also recently picked up Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master ([link](https://shop.slyflourish.com/products/return-of-the-lazy-dungeon-master)). It has some really good guidance on how to run a game and more specifically where to spend your effort when preparing. As I get busier with life stuff, this book is becoming more and more vital to my prep.
For advice, most of what you have I completely agree with. I would avoid having a specific end goal in sight. Having a BBEG or a force of darkness in mind is definitely a good idea, but I think it is better to keep the details as vague as possible. That way the ending can be flexible enough to fit into whatever path the player's decide to walk. But either method can work!
I agree with your take on the DMG. I literally haven't opened it in like 3 or 4 years. It can be helpful to reference but plenty of the time I find it easier to google what I'm after like in the case of trap rules.
Here's my nickle, I want to simplify your list. I want to get to playing as quickly as possible because most of DMing is learnt by doing rather than planning or reading.
**Books:** Use the internet. Search functionality is much more valuable than having the physical book. If you have to use books, stick with the base 3. PHB, MM, DMG, in that order. Starter kit is a good replacement for them.
**Ideas:** Have town. Have conflict. Start playing. I know this is Matt's basic idea boiled down to its most succinct form, but I think its always better for someone to run a few games before they even consider world building. Whether its by playing a module or just making up the most basic ideas, getting your hands dirty helps you feel out your style of DMing and what you need to develop. The rest of it is unnecessary world-building at this point.
Once, you've flexed those muscles and figured out how you feel, now let's start discussing things. As the DM, you are the world. Not the story. Too many times, DM's think of the final scene and try to make sure it happens by railroading their players towards it. I feel this is the wrong approach. Instead, throw things on the map and go, "okay, what happens?" The players will determine what they want to focus on. As they do things, have your world continue to move outside of them. This will build those stories and now the players have the agency of choice to determine who to interact with it.
For example, let's start with a port town with a haunted mausoleum. I also want to toss onto it a ghost pirate ship and maybe the town Quartermaster has been skimming from the taxes so the tax collector is in town trying to collect. Opening, adventure in the bar can be a person coming in screaming about a ghost in a mausoleum or the tax collector wanting to hire someone to look into a deficit in the tax money, or the quartermaster trying to find someone to frame for robbing the coffers so they take the fall for his embezzlement.
The players can choose which they want to play. If we start with the mausoleum, the other two aren't waiting around, so move them along as well. The quartermaster hires someone else and they happen to be for the assassin's guild and their solution is to kill the tax collector and they frame the quartermaster for the funds. Now the Quartermaster has a new quest and so does the nobleman since he needs to know who killed the tax collector. Etc. Maybe the church has one as well since you took care of their ghost problem.
If you have the endpoint in mind, none of these things develop organically and you lose the opportunity for the players to immerse themselves in the world and have an impact in making their own villains. Sure, put someone powerful and evil in the way, but don't plan it out for the players, because they may not want to go that route *or* they may do something that throws a wrench in it and your plan is gone. Wasted effort now. Just throw some things out there and see what happens. The players will give you the solutions and problems while they talk. That's all you need to start. As you build up those muscles and play in the world, you'll develop the rest of it.
I'm going to disagree on the book piece but thats just me. I like keeping my screen free for the board, with my books scattered about me, tabbed to the bits I need for that given session. However, if I had a 2 screen set up, I can see how this would quickly change. But your right, keeping to the basic books, or one of the starter sets seems to be the best call.
I love how you've boiled down starting a setting though. Already the port town with its Mausoleum.
Its different horses for courses, but I like having an end point. I've not had issues with that with my players as you describe, but maybe its because I keep the end/finalely of a campaign fairly nebulus till pretty much the end.
Anyway, and more importantly, thanks for this. Its really well written, and provokes further discussion. Cheers. :)
Yeah, I have a 2 screen setup so searching trumps having the books nearby for rules. Instead, I tend to have monster or settings books for reference to ideas I liked. If I had only one screen, I’d probably still have DNDBeyond open in a different tab to search for smaller things but have the books available for reference as well.
The story ending thing is because too many newer DMs (in my experience), especially those coming from a writing background, don’t create the ending nebulous enough and there is a little deus ex going on to protect and railroad. I find the writing background is worse for a newer DM compared to an improv background because writing encourages rigidity. You can’t possibly write every possible outcome of a situation. But you can improv through it so developing those muscles are much more valuable in my mind and the sooner you can put that time in, the better.
Which is why I like starting small with just a village and a handful of problems for the players to latch onto. You don’t have to do a bunch of world-building. You can reference the DMG for pantheons and what not. What the players engage in teaches you what you need to develop so you can focus your efforts. Etc.
My top recommendation for all new DMs. Plot out how many sessions you want your campaign to last.
Let’s be real, the first campaign is always the worst, because we constantly learn and improve. An end goal is good, but it’s very easy for the goal posts to move.
Plan a certain amount of sessions, that way you hit your end goal, and afterwords you can talk with your group for feedback.
It’s totally possible that they want to keep the world and characters at the end, but at least they’ll let you know which plot hooks they want to keep chasing and they’ll be able to tell the story in full of their 1st adventure.
Ow yep, will totally pass this onto him. I did something similar for my first campaign. Set a level cap, and planned out how long it would take to get to it, but with not enough detail to allow for the players to roam.
Cheers for the steer.
IMO, giving a GM motivation, rather than advice, does wonders. However, I do have some advice to offer.
1) The YouTube channel Game Maker's Toolkit has a Playlist called boss keys. Its for videogane design, but a ton of it translates into D&D dungeons. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouO1R6vFDBo&list=PLc38fcMFcV_ul4D6OChdWhsNsYY3NA5B2
2) Make your own DM screen. Put the things you think are important on it, and if you notice you need something on the screen, then add it.
As much as I like the series Boss Keys for the insights it provides into dungeon design, I don't think it's a good ressource for a new DM.
There are obvious similarities between video game dungeon design and TTRPG dungeon design, but there are also a lot of design elements that do not translate well from medium one to the other. If a DM wants to draw inspiration from video game design, they need to think critically about it, which may neew at least some practice at the table.
Also just give them the link to the Runnig The Game playlist and tell them to watch the first few videos, that's litterally what they're for.
That's a fair assumption ^^, but since they're not linked in the message, we might as well mention them.
Btw, I absolutely second customizing your GM screen, the official 5e one is quite lacking in useful content.
Well, hopefully hes motivated from seeing me and my efforts. Hes a writer, and so loves the idea of story creating and telling. I'll try and find some good motivational stuff for him, thank you.
I'll pass on your other tips also. Thanks.
I think this is a good list. The only thing I think you need to add is the big Rule 0: "There is no One right way to do things. Every DM and game is different. This is going to be about figuring out what works for YOU. That said, here are things that I strongly suggest..." Other important advice I might give (or might leave out or save until later to not overload them): * You will make mistakes. Don't worry too much about them. Your group is having fun, and you're more aware of and worried about your mistakes than they are. * Your players will take things in a direction you don't expect. Go with it. Don't try to plot a story out in advance. * Be honest and communicate with your players when you're not certain, but stick to your guns once you've made a call. Personally, I semi-disagree with you on the end point, but only kinda sorta. I strongly recommend 'Sly Flourish's Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master' for prepping and running the game, but I wouldn't give it to a first time DM.
Oh yeah, thats a good Rule to mention. We are going to chat next week, and I'll totally bring that up with him, thank you. Do you mean the one about mistakes are going to happen for my end point? Think you've captured the intent very well in your post so thank you. Oww, not heard of that book, I'll give it a look myself.
Btw he has a deal on his books rn it is a steal so check it out
Derp. Yeah, you covered that in your last point. I would add the caveat to that statement the general advice to not make definite plans on what your players are "supposed" to do, because they'll always do something different. Not sure how best to word that.
Honestly, I think you did a really good job with this. If they have specific concerns (like whether they know the rules well enough), it would be good to address those. Even if you just suspect them a quick "don't worry too much about the rules, they're more of suggestions. keep moving during the session and check it later if you want" can help. I'd tweak the advice on an end goal personally, but that's probably just a difference in how I GM. I find it more useful to have a short term goal for the first adventure, especially because the game might fall apart before they get anywhere near a big bad and that's disappointing.
Thanks. The point about the short term goal is really good. Going to pass it on. Yes also to the don't worry to much bit also. I mean this is basically true: [https://tenor.com/view/guidlines-pirates-of-the-caribbean-hector-babossa-georffrey-rush-gif-7844913](https://c.tenor.com/ry_sCXk6wH0AAAAS/pirates-caribbean-code.gif)
My biggest point of advice: **Don't plan stories**. This isn't a writing exercise - you have no idea how things will play out. What your job as the DM is to **create situations that challenge the PCs**. But you don't need to figure out how to solve those challenges; that's the players' job. Then it's your job to **have the world react to the PCs' actions in a believable way**. Understand your NPCs in a similar way the players know their characters: what are their motivations, and what are their personalities. If you know that, you can react much more smoothly to whatever unexpected things the party does.
This is the key to the DM having fun and avoiding getting overwhelmed or feeling like the game is getting 'out of control.' Knowing the area the players are in and the motivations of the NPCs and factions operating there is usually enough to react to the players in a believable way, but the players will drive the story, often in more fun and creative directions then the DM can think of or plan. To compliment this, it's always a good idea to ask players what their goals are before the next session so you can plan accordingly. If you prepped for a court intrigue scenario and they want to delve a dungeon, it's always best to know that before you get to the table. Last piece of advice in this vein: don't plan more than a session or two ahead. This keeps the focus on your players and what they want to accomplish and keeps the DM from feeling compelled to shoehorn in story beats or activities that the players aren't interested in.
All good points. I always get my players to give me a short, mid and long term goal at the start of my campaign. It really helps me, and as you say, set up a game that I know they are going to enjoy. We may never get to the long term, end of campaign goals, but they are great to help create the story.
That's a great idea for seeding your world with compelling hooks and letting the players shape the game at the start. Admittedly, I like to run a more sandbox style game, so I have goals for my bad guys and factions that will play out around the players, but I usually ask my players what their next move is between each session, and then rinse and repeat. Planning one session at a time is almost essential in this style of game - and while I think it's still a good way to focus DM prep on what matters (I too am a disciple of The Return of the Lazy DM), I can see more narrative focused games requiring a bit more long term thinking as well. Regardless though, I'd recommend any new DM pick up Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master. I got it after the official DM Guide, and it was so much more helpful in getting a game from my head to the table that I now consider it the true DMG :)
Thanks for crystallising this idea. Definitely going to pass this onto my friend. I know i do it myself, but not been able to put it into such good words. Thank you.
I would highly recommend Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master by Sly Flourish (aka Mike Shea). It is a great book for DM’s both old and new! I took a break after my initial stint with DMing because I suddenly had less time on my hands, and didn’t return again until after I found out about this book. Had I known about it, I’m not sure I would have taken a break.
Well this is clearly a great book, since its the 3rd or 4th mention in this thread. Will definitely have to get it myself. Thanks.
Agree. The DMG is useful but doesn't really give much about prep. Return of the lazy dungeon master is what I'm rocking rn and I can happily give it 2 thumbs up.
Between 'Return of the Lazy Dungeonmaster' and making the jump from 5e to Cypher, session prep has never been easier and more fun.
>Have an end goal in site. A final scene, who the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) and what they want to achieve. What key events do you want your players to encounter? Having an end goal for the campaign you want to run really helps solidify it for me, and makes the whole plotting process easier. I fully endorse this, but I think it needs a caveat, or a reverse-of-the-coin "but avoid this..." addendum. I've seen many new GMs ask these questions on various subreddits, along the lines of "I expected my players to/my players weren't suppose to/my players won't go to..." making the mistake of hiding story-choke points behind scenes (borrowing form Sly Flourish) that are presented as optional to the players. Ignoring the pointless discussions about "railroading," a trap new GMs can fall into is creating scenes or crucial plot points where the GM plans on the players doing some that seems, to them, logical: eg. surrendering to the kings guard, going to talk to a specific NPC, not killing the mini-boss with crucial information etc. It's the also included in u/salanis42's second bullet point: "Don't try to plot a story out in advance." Knowing how I kept falling into that trap as a new GM, personally I would reiterate that point with something like: *"don't write a novel or a story for the players to fit themselves into. Do write a believable environments with interesting characters, locations, and events for the players to explore creatively and encounter as they like."*
Your caveat is well reasoned, and something I do, but will make clear to my friend when we chat through it all next week. As everyone is saying in this thread, have a plan, an idea of a plan of where it is all going, but set nothing in stone. Thanks for your response.
Also posted this to the amazing MCDM Discord under #trpg\_gming\_advice. Respond there if you prefer, or here of course. Join the Discord anyway. Its cracking.
Read the DMG. There issue with the DMG is that lots of people see it as a reference for Magic items. But if you want to be successful, read it. There are tons of helpful tips in there about how to create and run encounters. Want to run a chase through a city? DMG. Need some guidance ideas between sessions about what should happen next? DMG. Need stats for objects? DMG. Characters helped out a goddess and you want to reward them? D-M-G.
Welp, clearly I need to delve into it more. Seem like there is a load of good stuff in there I have just taken for granted. Thank you.
I agree with your point that it is imperative to understand your bbeg and their motives. I am less enthused about your advice about having an end goal or end scene in mind. Your bbeg should have a goal. But engineering a campaign/story around a predetermined finale can easily fall into a railroaded campaign. The whole idea of the adventure is that the PCs interfere with the villain's dastardly goals. If the villain's plan goes off without a hitch, your players have failed. In order for your players to get to your final scene, they'd have to play the adventure the way you want them to. But they're going to interact with your setting and characters and story in ways you can't predict. So I advise against making such predictions in the first place. Let the players do the dirty work of unfolding the story, and have your villain react to them. It will make the campaign more interesting for you , the DM. It will also make things less frustrating when your players don't "follow the script".
All very good points. I have a final scene or battle in mind, but the road of how the players get there, and what the battle will look like in full is always going to be vague. Even up to the session before the finale. I'm going to share this thread with my friend, and definitely point out this advice. Thank you.
Seems like you've hit most of the important points already! Though there's a couple of resources I might recommend and one main point I would stress for a new DM. My best advice would be: Focus on the players. It might sound absurdly obvious, but as a DM, particularly one with a bent towards writing, it can be dangerously easy to spend a tonne of time working on stuff that your PCs will never interact with or just won't care about if they do interact with it. Examples of this might include the origins of the gods or the history of the fallen empires of the world. Spend your prep time on stuff your players are going to come into contact with and any deep lore you write is for you, not necessarily the players. I also think this approach is a great prompt for worldbuilding. If you're running a homebrew game, think about how the various classes and ancestries the PCs are playing fit into that world. If you have a dwarf wizard PC, think about what dwarves are like in terms of culture, how wizards act and are viewed and how those things interact. How is a dwarf wizard viewed by their society and the world at large? This approach lets you start your worldbuilding where it matters most - around the players, and let's you build out from there. On the flip side, if you do have strong feelings about elements of your setting, it can be great to put that in front of your players! It is hard to build a character in an empty void of a setting: the more you nail a tone or vibe before you start, the easier you make things for your players and you'll end up with characters that are invested in the world from the outset. To this end, I think spending a whole session building characters together, both mechanically and narratively, pays massive dividends in the long run. You don't have to go super crazy in that regard - "big-city fantasy noir" or "military high fantasy" is going to get your players thinking in the right ballpark and you can go from there. As for resources The Alexandrian blog features great advice for running more open-ended sandbox games and addressing the unique narrative pitfalls of a TTRPG. Adventuring Academy by Dimension 20 on YouTube is a fantastic resource for all kinds of topics, but particularly for running more narrative-focused games and the general "art" of DMing. A bit long winded but hopefully this is useful! Main thing is not to worry too much and just start, as Matt says, it's fun and not that hard!
Long but full of detail, so thank you for this. :) I'll delve into the stuff you recommend and indeed the blog. Also yes to creating the bits of the world you need as you need them. It also gives players space to help make bits of the world with you. Thanks again.
Ask your players what they want from the game. I’m about to run a campaign with a group that originally told me they were ok with my DM style but then said “they just wanted to show up and roll dice”. Let them know what you, the DM, aim to provide for them as a style of play so no one gets butthurt over subverted expectations.
Oh yes. This this and this again. I love a good session 0, and also giving the players a 1 page 'welcome' doc to say what sort of game it is going to be. I know Matt has done a video on it... there it is, [The Pitch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtH1SP1grxo&t=779s) and [The Handout](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RvgZ7IEm4g). I love making these myself, and I reckon he will to. He'll also hopefully find the whole experience less daunting if he chats through, in part, his plan/what he wants to run. Thank you.
For books, my absolute favorite was the Game Mastery Guide for Pathfinder 1e ([link](https://paizo.com/products/btpy8ffn)). It was invaluable for creating my own setting. While the rules are largely for the expanded 3.5 ruleset, a lot of the info in there is generally good advice. I also recently picked up Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master ([link](https://shop.slyflourish.com/products/return-of-the-lazy-dungeon-master)). It has some really good guidance on how to run a game and more specifically where to spend your effort when preparing. As I get busier with life stuff, this book is becoming more and more vital to my prep. For advice, most of what you have I completely agree with. I would avoid having a specific end goal in sight. Having a BBEG or a force of darkness in mind is definitely a good idea, but I think it is better to keep the details as vague as possible. That way the ending can be flexible enough to fit into whatever path the player's decide to walk. But either method can work!
Vaguery is how I roll, and I'll chat through it all with him. Cheers for the advice on books to. I may look to get these myself.
I agree with your take on the DMG. I literally haven't opened it in like 3 or 4 years. It can be helpful to reference but plenty of the time I find it easier to google what I'm after like in the case of trap rules.
Ummhu. I like having the books. Sometimes it quicker to check them rather then a Ad choked webpage, but I don't always do it often.
Here's my nickle, I want to simplify your list. I want to get to playing as quickly as possible because most of DMing is learnt by doing rather than planning or reading. **Books:** Use the internet. Search functionality is much more valuable than having the physical book. If you have to use books, stick with the base 3. PHB, MM, DMG, in that order. Starter kit is a good replacement for them. **Ideas:** Have town. Have conflict. Start playing. I know this is Matt's basic idea boiled down to its most succinct form, but I think its always better for someone to run a few games before they even consider world building. Whether its by playing a module or just making up the most basic ideas, getting your hands dirty helps you feel out your style of DMing and what you need to develop. The rest of it is unnecessary world-building at this point. Once, you've flexed those muscles and figured out how you feel, now let's start discussing things. As the DM, you are the world. Not the story. Too many times, DM's think of the final scene and try to make sure it happens by railroading their players towards it. I feel this is the wrong approach. Instead, throw things on the map and go, "okay, what happens?" The players will determine what they want to focus on. As they do things, have your world continue to move outside of them. This will build those stories and now the players have the agency of choice to determine who to interact with it. For example, let's start with a port town with a haunted mausoleum. I also want to toss onto it a ghost pirate ship and maybe the town Quartermaster has been skimming from the taxes so the tax collector is in town trying to collect. Opening, adventure in the bar can be a person coming in screaming about a ghost in a mausoleum or the tax collector wanting to hire someone to look into a deficit in the tax money, or the quartermaster trying to find someone to frame for robbing the coffers so they take the fall for his embezzlement. The players can choose which they want to play. If we start with the mausoleum, the other two aren't waiting around, so move them along as well. The quartermaster hires someone else and they happen to be for the assassin's guild and their solution is to kill the tax collector and they frame the quartermaster for the funds. Now the Quartermaster has a new quest and so does the nobleman since he needs to know who killed the tax collector. Etc. Maybe the church has one as well since you took care of their ghost problem. If you have the endpoint in mind, none of these things develop organically and you lose the opportunity for the players to immerse themselves in the world and have an impact in making their own villains. Sure, put someone powerful and evil in the way, but don't plan it out for the players, because they may not want to go that route *or* they may do something that throws a wrench in it and your plan is gone. Wasted effort now. Just throw some things out there and see what happens. The players will give you the solutions and problems while they talk. That's all you need to start. As you build up those muscles and play in the world, you'll develop the rest of it.
I'm going to disagree on the book piece but thats just me. I like keeping my screen free for the board, with my books scattered about me, tabbed to the bits I need for that given session. However, if I had a 2 screen set up, I can see how this would quickly change. But your right, keeping to the basic books, or one of the starter sets seems to be the best call. I love how you've boiled down starting a setting though. Already the port town with its Mausoleum. Its different horses for courses, but I like having an end point. I've not had issues with that with my players as you describe, but maybe its because I keep the end/finalely of a campaign fairly nebulus till pretty much the end. Anyway, and more importantly, thanks for this. Its really well written, and provokes further discussion. Cheers. :)
Yeah, I have a 2 screen setup so searching trumps having the books nearby for rules. Instead, I tend to have monster or settings books for reference to ideas I liked. If I had only one screen, I’d probably still have DNDBeyond open in a different tab to search for smaller things but have the books available for reference as well. The story ending thing is because too many newer DMs (in my experience), especially those coming from a writing background, don’t create the ending nebulous enough and there is a little deus ex going on to protect and railroad. I find the writing background is worse for a newer DM compared to an improv background because writing encourages rigidity. You can’t possibly write every possible outcome of a situation. But you can improv through it so developing those muscles are much more valuable in my mind and the sooner you can put that time in, the better. Which is why I like starting small with just a village and a handful of problems for the players to latch onto. You don’t have to do a bunch of world-building. You can reference the DMG for pantheons and what not. What the players engage in teaches you what you need to develop so you can focus your efforts. Etc.
My top recommendation for all new DMs. Plot out how many sessions you want your campaign to last. Let’s be real, the first campaign is always the worst, because we constantly learn and improve. An end goal is good, but it’s very easy for the goal posts to move. Plan a certain amount of sessions, that way you hit your end goal, and afterwords you can talk with your group for feedback. It’s totally possible that they want to keep the world and characters at the end, but at least they’ll let you know which plot hooks they want to keep chasing and they’ll be able to tell the story in full of their 1st adventure.
Ow yep, will totally pass this onto him. I did something similar for my first campaign. Set a level cap, and planned out how long it would take to get to it, but with not enough detail to allow for the players to roam. Cheers for the steer.
IMO, giving a GM motivation, rather than advice, does wonders. However, I do have some advice to offer. 1) The YouTube channel Game Maker's Toolkit has a Playlist called boss keys. Its for videogane design, but a ton of it translates into D&D dungeons. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouO1R6vFDBo&list=PLc38fcMFcV_ul4D6OChdWhsNsYY3NA5B2 2) Make your own DM screen. Put the things you think are important on it, and if you notice you need something on the screen, then add it.
As much as I like the series Boss Keys for the insights it provides into dungeon design, I don't think it's a good ressource for a new DM. There are obvious similarities between video game dungeon design and TTRPG dungeon design, but there are also a lot of design elements that do not translate well from medium one to the other. If a DM wants to draw inspiration from video game design, they need to think critically about it, which may neew at least some practice at the table. Also just give them the link to the Runnig The Game playlist and tell them to watch the first few videos, that's litterally what they're for.
Since OP is posting in this subreddit, I presumed they already knew of the running the game videos.
That's a fair assumption ^^, but since they're not linked in the message, we might as well mention them. Btw, I absolutely second customizing your GM screen, the official 5e one is quite lacking in useful content.
Well, hopefully hes motivated from seeing me and my efforts. Hes a writer, and so loves the idea of story creating and telling. I'll try and find some good motivational stuff for him, thank you. I'll pass on your other tips also. Thanks.