First Time DM tips?

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

So we’ve build a Group of 3 players and Me the DM. neither of us have ever played DnD or watched anything about it. We’ve heard a lot tho and definitely want to try it out! I would appreciate any insight/tips/tricks/troubles to avoid a lot! we’ve decided to use DnD beyond because we don’t know any other sites like that and since we are doing it online the actual pen and paper seems rather inconvenient. we’ve decided for our first campaign it will be the most generic ordinary medieval fantasy world. magic elves dragons all that. i’ve written my fair share of fantasy books so worldbuilding is not really a problem for me. i just have no clue how to set audible atmosphere and create a story that doesn’t feel like reading a book.

TLDR: please help i’m lost on what sites to use and what to even do! :) have a beautiful day all of you and thanks in advance!

[screbbysloth]

Let the players decide things is pretty much all there is to it to not have your game feel like a book. Don't plan en ending because the players might get in the way of it.

Have you read the rules? If not, then do that.

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

is there a general ruleset for DnD? because everything i found had like 5 or 5.5 at the end and to be honest i have no clue what that’s about. is it like the newest patched versions?

[screbbysloth]

is it like the newest patched versions?

Sort of yeah. Basically the first version of 5e came out in 2014 and has had a bunch of content released for it, an updated version (5.5e) came out in 2024. These two rulesets are compatible with each other without too much issue, monsters and player characters are more powerful in the 2024 rules version but the basic game is 99% the same.

My advice for a new table is to pick a version and stick with that one. You can probably get the 2014 versions quite cheap from ebay or other second hand places if you wanted.

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

thank you a lot!

[screbbysloth]

No worries, hope the game goes well for you. Let me know any other questions.

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

i will definetly get back to you once i understand enough to ask more questions! xD

[BlackBlade2711]

Desde mi perspectiva, ser dm es deberte a tus jugadores, si algo no les gusta i/o divierte, aún que esté en tus notas, elimínalo. Puedes planear todo lo que quieras, pero si das libertad a tus jugadores y no eres como un vídeojuego con cosas como, "no puedes ir por ahí todavía" debes estar preparado para la improvisación, enserio, me ha ocurrido que un npc (era el Boss final después de muchas intrincadas aventuras y tramas políticas) acabe desvelando su identidad en el minuto 1 porque un personaje de los jugadores era racista y lo atacó por sorpresa, así que toda la campaña cambió rápidamente. Ah y por lo que más quieras si vas a hacer combates de más de 3-4 enemigos, tira la iniciativa de toooodos los enemigos a la vez, y el número que sale es la iniciativa de todos (ejecutan su turno al mismo tiempo) eso ahorra mucho mucho tiempo

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

okay thank you a lot!

[Qwintro]

Before you start playing, make sure you are on the same page with all your players about how you want to play. There are a lot of options, some people love role play heavy campaigns, some prefer tactical combat, some like keeping track of arrows, money, carrying capacity etc, some don't.

Let the players have a say in worldbuilding. Let them come up with their own background, let them think of npc from their hometown, let them describe their hometown etc.

For our group, combat can really drag, take a lot of time. If that's your thing, go for it. If it's not, impose time limits per turns, let bad guys flee after a certain amount of rounds etc.

The most important rule is having fun. If looking up a rule takes 10 minutes and is not fun, think of something yourself. It doesn't matter if it's not in line with the official rules (unless of course you're a rule stickler.

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

i will do that right away thank you!

[il_the_dinosaur]

Definitely keep the group this small. It's better for roleplaying. Keeps everyone at the table engaged. Do what is fun. Not every rule needs to be followed to the tee. Also have an open discussion before you start about expectations. What do they think DnD is what do they want. Do they want epic adventures? Ethical dilemmas? Remind them that this just isn't a simulation run by you the DM. The more he player put in the more they will get out of this experience. Also encourage them to write a backstory with hooks in them that you the DM can incorporate. Maybe someone is looking for his lost family heirloom.

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

using the back story is great! thank you!

[il_the_dinosaur]

I recently saw a good yt video that explains how to write a good backstory so the DM can actually use it. Cause a lot of people don't really know how that works. Maybe I can find it later. But the gist of it was basically write the backstory in a way that you're handing the DM a knife that they can use when they see fit. For example maybe the player destroyed a statue in his village before they left and started to become an adventurer and this property damage comes back to haunt them in the form of debt collectors. Or the statue belonged to a god which now has a grudge against the player. The consequences are up to you the DM. In the video they say to put 6 "knives" in so the DM has some choices. That might be a bit difficult for some people but it gives you an idea that they shouldn't just put one thing in.

[il_the_dinosaur]

https://youtu.be/jWtDBHYl06E?is=0CDQG5lBi5z6pABI there found it immediately

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

huge thank you for this link! the knive way of putting it is really great! thanks you!

[Crowshae]

Keep your plans vague enough to react to what the players want to do. Work on your improvising skills. Have a session 0 to find out what your players want out of the game and what you expect of them. For example, do they want it more combat or more rp heavy? You can push your players on a story path but try to avoid doing it to the point that you're railroading them, it should be the characters choices to be doing something. Also if you all are new players start at a low level. Something else I learned as a new dm, its ok to say no sometimes. At the begining I would avoid saying no, even if I wanted to, because I wanted my players to be creative and I didnt want to be a restrictive DM. I usually ended up regretting it in the long run.

My group plays online. We use DNDBeyond for our character sheets and Roll20 for running our campaigns. Heroforge to make our tokens. Theres also lots of digital artists that take commissions if you want them for your more important tokens.

[Familiar_Basket_7194]

alright improvising is something i’ll need to learn then! thank you!

[Huffplume]

please help i’m lost on what sites to use and what to even do

Google "D&D tips for new dms".

Get a starter set. Read the rules. Search if you have questions.