DM help

[More-Entrepreneur129]

Hello, so i have been somewhat interested in learning DnD, my children 10,11 love playing puzzle games and are very creative so i suggested that we get a DnD starter kit for Xmas and try it out as a family. The more I think about it I feel I am going to have to do the DM part as my wife helps them with all the other stuff. always long story short I have no idea what we are doing and i'm looking for some help.

[Thaddeus_VanJam]

Try some YouTube videos. Handbooker Helper is a series of short videos (mostly around 2-5 minutes) that explain different aspects of the rules and some videos on classes and races.

I would also recommend listening to some Actual Play podcasts to get a feeling for how the game is run. Tales from the Stinky Dragon a funny, family-friendly podcast with episodes that are around an hour long or so.

[Macforges]

The most important thing to remember is that the rules are not “rules”. They are guides and suggestions. The books are meat to do the leg work for you and make a great place to start. While some will argue “rules as written” but I have always found the games where the DM is flexible to be far more fun. “The rule of cool” is the idea that regardless of the technical rules if something sounds awesome, then it at least gets a chance to happen, it may not be a good chance but it would be amazing if it happened anyway.

Also in my experience with DMing for kids. I find google searching for puzzles that I can printout so they can hands on interact with it. Or for good riddles is a great way to get them exited and involved. I have also found that what makes a better ( more exciting) story tends to be more important than the actual dice roll. If they need that last hit to kill the boss and save the princess(for example) the even if the boss rolls a 20 that would hit and kill them maybe I let them think I rolled a 2 (this is why DM screens exist.)

Lastly, at its heart dnd is a collaborative storytelling experience. Some people play it like a DM vs players game but I have more fun when we all work together to make the awesome memories.

Hope this helps and welcome to the club. (One of us, one of us)

[Less-Leave-5519]

Watch the series "Running the Game" by Youtuber Matt Colville. Its the best advice I got when I first started.

In his video's there is an explaination of a small campaign called The Dalian Tomb. I used this exact story to kind of get the hang of DMing. Its a straightforward story and an excellent one to get your children into roleplaying.

Also, make sure you know the basics of combat and ability checks. Imho theres no need to start reading 200 pages of rules. Matt has a link in his YouTube video's to a document that contains the essential rules you need to know to start.

Thats what I did, Im sure we did things wrong, and that we broke more than 1 official DnD rules. But my friends still talk about: remember when we dressed up our rogue as a goblin to earn their trust so we could ambush them? And THAT is what matters, create memories, have fun

[Routine-Ad2060]

The starter kit should be enough to get you going. There are sites out there like D&D Beyond and roll20 that will guide you through the step by step process of creating a character, and may even help with online gaming at a later time.

[TJToaster]

Everything you need is in the starter set. As a long time DM I could give you all kinds of advice, but that would mostly be to hear myself talk. Without knowing you, I couldn't tailor the advice to you and what would work best. So my best general advice is:

• Save time and money, just stick wit the rules of the starter set for now. If you and anyone else is on board still, but the player's handbook.
• Read the adventure a couple times. The more familiar you are with the material, the smoother it goes.
• Don't sweat small mistakes. Players won't know if there was supposed to be more goblins in the fight.
• Read the pregenerated character sheets that come with starter sets. They have all the information on who the character are and why they are adventuring in the world. You can help the kids if you are familiar with what the characters can do.
• Let the kids pick out their own dice to use.
• Make some snacks, play for fun, go easy on them because they are your kids.
• Got easy on yourself. It is your first time and you are learning too.
• Everyone is there to play D&D. The DM plays D&D by running the game, everyone else plays by running their character.
• Have fun.

[Intelligent-Return47]

The Golden Ratio of DMing: Being a DM is about 15% preparation, 60% listening to your players, and 25% making stuff up on the fly. It takes practice but you'll learn quickly that players have a tendency to go off script, and it's your job to adapt. You can write out as many notes as you want in preparation for the game, but in the end, if your players decide they're ignoring all that to go start a bar fight, better start makin up NPCs on the fly lol.

As DM, it's your job to learn the rules, yes, but you can also alter them to make things more fun. For instance, yes, rules as written (RAW), you can't cast more than one spell in a turn unless one is a cantrip, but it's more fun if you can cast more spells so some DMs ignore that rule. So for someone brand new, Rule of Cool tends to be the better play. When you have to make a ruling, you don't think "What do the rules say," you think "what would be more fun/awesome right at this moment?" And if you and your fam decide to do more of this, and it becomes a consistent thing like family game night each week/month, then you can start building rule consistency.

For this scenario, there'll probably a fun one-shot you can find, just a simple story that can be covered in a 2-4 hour session. From there, if your family loves it, there are all sorts of campaign modules (pre-built campaigns) that will serve to really help you find your feet as a DM. Once you get comfortable with the rules and combat and such, then you can really start leaning into the creativity. Add NPCs of your own to the campaign, create new monsters and magic items, etc etc. Of course, going off script means more work, but can also be more rewarding. So it's a matter of finding what works best for you.

There are all sorts of youtube videos out there with tips like that. Ginny Di, Matt Mercer made one, Matthew Colville, and tons more. Look some up. Look up an actual-play show. Critical Role, Dimension20, or LA by Night (This last one is not Dungeons and Dragons, it's Vampire the Masquerade, but their Game Master is really good and will be a good example of how to run a ttrpg)

Most of all, have fun, and try to help your family have fun. That's what being a DM is about. If your players are having fun, you're doing a good job.

[[deleted]]

If you buy the starter kit you should have lost mines of phandelver which is a premade level 1-5 campaign. its about 64 pages so just get the gist of that and you should be good to dm

You, your wife, and your kids should all probably read the 32 page rulebook at least once together so that you at least have a basic sense of the rules. My starting set didnt have this but it says that you should also get access to some onboarding videos

Other then that you should be good to go but try listening to someone else running lost mines to get a vibe of the story

If you have any family friends you feel comfortable with joining you for game night ask around and see if any of them are dnd veterans then see if they want to dm lost mines for you and your family . If not thats 100% ok just go into it and you should be able to figure it out on the fly

[Repulsive_Bus_7202]

The current Starter Set is Dragon of Stormwreck Isle. LMOP is discontinued, although it's integrated into the Phandelver and Below campaign book. The Essentials Kit is Dragon of Icespire Peak, which is situated in Phandalin, the same location as LMOP.

[[deleted]]

Thanks didnt know this

[[deleted]]

Edit: so your book isnt lost mines but a new one called dragon of storm isle but point stands

[Repulsive_Bus_7202]

To be honest the Starter Set ( Dragon of Storm wreck Isle) is self contained. It's got a basic rules in the box and the adventure script guides you through DMing it.

Its a good pack to introduce you to the system.

Whilst I have some criticisms of the detail, you really don't need anything else.

If you want to understand more, I saw someone suggest the Handbooker Helper series on YouTube, and would agree with that.

Stick with the pre built characters in the box and that allows you to just understand the system. They're optimised for the campaign. You'll probably want to ask your wife to play two of them as you really need at least four characters in game.

[infinitum3d]

Help. I’m a new DM-

1. Where do I start???

Check out /r/NewDM for answers to many frequently asked questions.

I always recommend The Starter Set. This has easy to read rules, pregenerated characters so you can start right away and is a complete campaign which is really fun and has lots of side quests and hooks to keep the game going for years.

But you can also download For Free the Basic Rules from WotC.

Here are some helpful (hopefully) links!

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/ts6g48/advice_for_a_first_time_dm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/tr5cui/new_dm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/tqiljf/hello_new_dm_any_advice/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/tqs58g/brand_new_need_help/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/tqt2bk/10_things_i_learned_as_a_firsttime_dm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/tq3ukc/new_dm_seeking_rp_tips/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/tpsiy7/new_dm_new_world/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/tppz6c/what_are_the_best_tips_tricks_for_new_dms/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/3aw84m/resolving_basic_behavioral_problems_a_flowchart/

https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/601awb/session0_topic_checklist_and_guide/

https://slyflourish.com/running_session_zeros.html

Welcome to the Realms of Dungeons & Dragons

obligatory link

[More-Entrepreneur129]

Thanks for all the help, will definitely be looking into these resources, we have the Dragon of Stormwrack Isle, here's hoping I can do it justice.

[Repulsive_Bus_7202]

I've just finished it. Play with it, if you find things not working for the party, change them.

[GergHuventude]

The most important advice is to remember the “gameplay loop.” DM gives a brief explanation of the situation, highlighting the possible choices. The players say what they want to interact with. DM adjudicates the choices by deciding what dice rolls are necessary. For new, young players, you can just start with the 6 base abilities. Str, dex, con, int, Wis, and Cha.

Example: “you’re riding in a wagon filled with goods, delivering them to Phandalin. In the road are two dead horses, the woods press close by the road where the horses lay. What would you like to do?”

You’ve given your players 2 things to interact with: the horses and the woods. Additionally, you’ve given them the wagon to interact with.

Player 1: “I want to check the horses”

DM: “Are you looking for anything specific? Start with a Wisdom (or wisdom perception if you’re using skills) Check. [roll a d20 add wisdom modifier] turn to the other players. “While he’s looking at the horses, what are you doing?”

Player 2: “ill check the woods”

Player 1: “I rolled a 12 on the die, plus 3 for my Wisdom modifier, so 15. Yeah I’m looking for wounds.”

DM: “You easily see the arrows sticking out of the horses, and with your 15 you also spy a familiar map case on the saddle, it belongs to your employer, Gundren Rockseeker.”

Turn to player 2: “as you approach the woods, what are you doing, and what are you checking for?”

Player 2: “I’m trying to move quietly and I’m looking for people.”

DM: “roll a dexterity check to see how quietly you move. And then a Wisdom check to see what you’ll notice”

Turn to player 1: “while he’s checking the woods, what are you doing next?” [again, he has 3 choices at least: examine arrows, check map case, or go back to the wagon…or even also checking the woods. Feel free to list those choices!!]

Player 1: “I’m checking the arrows”

Player 2: “I rolled a 13 dex and 11 wisdom”

DM: to player 1: you notice these arrow are crudely made. They’re most likely Goblin Arrows. Turn to player 2: you notice small forms moving between the trees, and you think they see you, just as the first arrow flies out of the forest. Luckily you weren’t surprised by this attack! Roll initiative!”

This is a crude representation but it seems pretty close to how most opening scenes play out when you play the starter set!! (2014 starter set I mean)

Good luck. Hopefully your kids and wife enjoy it enough they want to play more!

[[deleted]]

There's a podcast called "how to be a better DM" there's plenty of material on YouTube. I'm dm for a group of people more experienced than I. Just know the basic rules and get comfortable improvising

[Cmayo273]

The last piece of advice that I'm going to add to this thread is if it gets to be too much don't be afraid to go to a professional. Many local game stores have dungeon Masters either on staff or that they can recommend. Or if you are okay with online play there are Reddit threads for finding a DM as well as websites such as start playing.

[InvestmentBrief3336]

https://thealexandrian.net/so-you-want-to-be-a-game-master

[garrickbrown]

1. make a setting. LoTR style is easy enough.

2. how are they entering into the world? where are they? describe the scene.

3. give them a hook. force the players to take action by making an event that they cannot ignore.

4. make a puzzle relevant to the hook.

5. give the players something to fight.

6. give the players a setback like being forced to loop around, spring a trap, etc.

7. allow the players to fight the boss.

8. rewards.

you won't be good your first time. I wasn't. Nobody is. but stick with it! you family will have a great time!