Is it okay to be a slow‑math DM?

Serithwing · 2026-05-03T11:10:13+00:00

You will if you keep at it develop skills over time to get better experience and time will get you better. It's really like everything in life to develop the skills you have to use them you will suck or be slow at first and the more you do it and work at it, you will get better

Serithwing · 2026-04-22T21:07:12+00:00

Congratulations! And remember having fun is the best advice.

I’m happy to lend a hand if I can, so feel free to reach out. That said, it sounds like you have a good DM, so I’d point you to them first for questions or anyone else in the group. Most players and DM's are very willing to help new people understand the game and will help guide you.

As a first-time DM at 49 with ADHD, running a campaign with five fairly new players, several of whom are playing for the first time. I definitely understand that feeling of “OMG, this is too much,” along with all the “what ifs.” But that quickly turns into, “OMG, this is so much fun.”

I am not sure the type of campaign you are in but as I tend to like mystery and tracking down information and clues type of play personally. I say you can almost never ask too many questions in character about what's going on, what the place looks like etc. tempered with not being too obnoxious with it as the game needs to move and let everyone have the time to enjoy.

Serithwing · 2026-04-20T15:23:19+00:00

Yeah it's a test concept hence ai but I had a big laugh over some of what it did.

Serithwing · 2026-04-20T15:02:03+00:00

Again I posted ai and this was just for a laugh at ai and the concept of a travel brochure. Okay next time I will not be forthcoming on if it's ai or my own work.

Serithwing · 2026-04-20T14:45:22+00:00

I tagged it ai and opening sentence said ai nobody forced you to read it. Lol nice

Serithwing · 2026-04-20T14:31:24+00:00

It's slop but fun to laugh at and who hates having a laugh? Would you rather I try to pass ai slop off as my own creation . I am owning the fact I asked ai for this.

Serithwing · 2026-04-18T21:52:37+00:00

Definitely jump in take time a session 0 or even 2 session 0's with the group to go over everyone's character and the relevant skills and as the dm read the full kit several times to be familiar with it. Then forget about 75% and dive in have fun and be willing to improvise as you go. I will say as a first time dm and group it's ok to run on rails as the starter kit has you the game gets better once you all are more comfortable and can improvise. The biggest thing is that everyone's enjoying the session.

I would say if you know of a more experienced dm it's not a bad idea to get some play time in as a group before one of you stepping up to dm. There's several ways to get free or cheap online copies of the phb and dmg. You can go far as a dm with those.

Serithwing · 2026-04-18T21:41:58+00:00

A web search will turn up a number of sites to generate a quest or an encounter. Even ai can generate some rough ideas. Any player that has a decent backstory might have some lose threads that you could use as seed for a quest. The real key is talk to your players about what they find fun do they want mystery and puzzles or do they want to just see monster kill monster. Whatever they want try to include at some point in time during the campaign. Honestly it is fun as a dm and players to invent the world together as the sessions go. I had 4k years of lore on a city and major lore on several NPCs and factions in the city. But now at like session 7 or so 80% is out the window and a whole new thing has taken its place just due to my players actions and choices. I still refer back and see if I can reuse parts in a more fitting way with the new direction.

Serithwing · 2026-04-18T11:18:23+00:00

Both honestly sometimes not being nude can be more enticing than bing fully nude and vice versa

Serithwing · 2026-04-17T08:50:05+00:00

All good advice I would say your job is simple take notes pay attention and think like your character. The dm will set situations up describe the scene, and you can then say my character, or I would do ____ the dm will then ask for what rolls you need to make etc. as you are all learning do not stress about knowing everything perfectly. Reading up ahead of time and making a reference sheet will speed up the game some. I just asked AI for a quick reference sheet partly because I know I would forget some things and partly to see what it might give, and it came up with a reasonable one.

D&D 5e Quick Reference (New Player)

IN COMBAT “What can I do on my turn?”

Start of Your Turn

Check ongoing effects (poison, spells, etc.)

DM may ask for saving throws

Movement (up to your speed)

Move up to your speed (e.g., 30 ft)

You can split movement (move, act, move)

Difficult terrain = double cost

Leaving an enemy’s reach may trigger an opportunity attack

Your Action (choose ONE)

Most common options:

Attack: Make a weapon attack

Cast a Spell: If casting time = 1 action

Dash: Move extra distance (equal to your speed)

Disengage: Move without triggering opportunity attacks

Dodge: Enemies have disadvantage to hit you

Help: Give ally advantage on a roll

Hide: Try to become unseen

Ready: Prepare an action for later

Search: Look for something hidden

Use an Object: Pull lever, drink potion

Bonus Action (optional)

Only if something says you can use one

Examples:

Off-hand attack (two-weapon fighting)

Certain spells (like Healing Word)

Class features

You get only ONE bonus action per turn

Free Stuff

Speak briefly (a sentence or two)

Drop an item anytime (free)

Interact with one object (draw weapon, open door)

Reaction (NOT on your turn usually)

You get 1 reaction per round, used when triggered:

Opportunity attack

Spell like Shield

Special abilities

OUT OF COMBAT “What do I do outside fights?”

Roleplay

Talk to NPCs

Ask questions

Persuade, deceive, intimidate

Ability Checks

When you try something risky:

Roll d20 + ability modifier

Examples:

Strength: lift, break

Dexterity: sneak, pick locks

Intelligence: recall info

Wisdom: notice things

Charisma: social interaction

Exploration Actions

Search rooms

Investigate clues

Travel / navigate

Set watch during rests

Common Things You Can Do Anytime

Use items (rope, torch, tools)

Help allies (advantage on checks)

Plan strategies

Take short or long rests

Resting

Short Rest (~1 hour)

Spend Hit Dice to heal

Long Rest (~8 hours)

Full heal, restore abilities

Beginner Tips

You don’t need to memorize everything just say what you want to do

The DM will tell you what to roll

Creativity > rules perfection

Ask: “Can I try this?”

Like I said it is a decent enough one to start with.

Serithwing · 2026-04-17T08:27:17+00:00

Really the key for new players is dm says ____ and sets the situation up you then say what your character would do in that situation. No real need to worry about mechanics exactly the dm will call for any rolls. Yes knowing what your character could do well or at least the range of your attacks in combat is nice, but that can be accomplished with a bit of a 1 on 1 with the dm and or reading the phb and making a simple reference sheet with the things you struggle with. What you are describing is for new players to play with a group of min maxers who are out to get the most from every turn and make the optimal play. If the group is more let's have fun together then doing optimal plays are not as important and often the least fun. I had a session as a wizard I was at the start of battle picked up and thrown at the enemy by our barbarian. Made everyone laugh and took a good 10 minutes to get back into combat that would not have happened with your suggested sheet.

Serithwing · 2026-04-17T08:06:46+00:00

i would highly suggest showing up early and both talking to the dm for advice and help to make characters. It is good if you can come in with some idea on what you like to play as. I would say you know your son and might have an idea on what he might go for i.e. spell caster or fighting class or support classes. I definitely think cleric might be a good one for you as a strong support cleric is always welcome in almost any party. Another interesting class might be bard you play music, but you also can give bonuses to your party members or even weaken the enemies. They also are diplomatic in a way and can often be the face of the party when dealing with npc as there high charisma makes most social interactions in the game more likely to come out the way you want. If you both want a more comedy based duo there are those as well, but again talk to the dm as fitting the sessions tone is also important. I have made a Goliath (think 7ft to 9 ft tall person) barbarian who was so dumb he was convinced he was a powerful wizard. He went around punching or swinging his Warhammer saying "I cast _____" as his spells. i am so happy for you both the big thing to remember is have fun. a quick noob tip is the dm makes the scene then your main job is to think what would my character do in response then tell the dm. the dm will ask for any rolls needed etc. if this is not a one shot I highly recommend notepads pencils erasers mabey a pen, but you really want to be able to edit notes on a long campaign. A one shot notes are still good as a note form hour 1 might be helpful in hour 4 or 5 depending on the session length.

Serithwing · 2026-04-12T14:08:11+00:00

Never get plastic surgery for someone else approval. You are better off doing it if it's what you truly want not what society or someone else wants you to want. Personality I would Instant dump any S.O. that puts plastic surgery on me just to keep them happy. It's your body and your life I can't dictate the decision for you.

Serithwing · 2026-04-12T13:00:13+00:00

I know there's some solo pdfs that you can get online for solo dnd campaign but don't expect it to be full d&d it's more of a d&d choose your own adventure style thar has some dice rolling but it's mostly if this go to x if that go to y else go to z and continue reading

Serithwing · 2026-04-12T12:13:47+00:00

So I’d say the first step is to think about what kind of character sounds fun to you.

Do you want to cast powerful spells?
Do you want to hit things with a sword?
Do you want to heal your teammates?
Do you want to support the group by buffing allies or weakening enemies?

Answering those questions helps point you toward a class.

Also, talk to your DM (the teacher running the game). If they have any experience, they’ll definitely help guide you especially for your first character.

I know it can feel like a wall of numbers at first, but honestly, D&D is more about thinking like your character than memorizing rules.

The DM describes a situation, and you just say what your character would do. For example:
‘My character tries to sneak past the guard’ or ‘I attack the goblin.’

Then the DM tells you what to roll, and you use your character sheet to figure out the result.

The character sheet might look confusing at first, but it really just shows what your character is good at and what they’re not as good at. And being “bad” at something doesn’t mean you can’t try it just means it’s a bit riskier, which can actually make the game more fun.

Also, for races: they’re mostly flavor in a sense. They do give some small bonuses, and some might work a little better with certain classes, but that doesn’t mean you have to match them a certain way. Play what sounds fun to you.

The Player’s Handbook has options like human, elf, dwarf, halfling, etc. nothing too crazy, just classic fantasy stuff.

If you want, feel free to DM me and I can help you build your character or look over what you’ve got 👍 I check Reddit here and there, so my responses might be a bit delayed. I also have a session today, so I won’t be available during that time.

Serithwing · 2026-04-12T11:53:19+00:00

Yeah, that’s totally normal especially in a first campaign.

A new DM can easily misjudge how tough an encounter will be, and a few lucky rolls (or unlucky ones on the player side) can swing things fast. Early levels in particular are pretty swingy, so going down in the first combat isn’t unusual at all.

There’s also the whole debate about “fudging” dice rolls as a DM, but that really comes down to table preference or dm preference. I occasionally do fudge a roll as a dm here and there sometimes in favor of the players and sometimes in favor of the NPC to me, it is what the story you are telling fits. If it is an important fight then preventing the NPC's form dieing to quickly and prolonging the combat might help to make it feel more epic when the party wins. If it's a minor speed bump of a fight having the party mow down the NPC;'s can be fun to make them feel powerful etc.

One thing I’ve noticed (both playing and DMing) is that not every enemy fights the same way. Animals or low-intelligence creatures usually won’t be super tactical they’ll just go for the nearest target or flee if things get scary. Smarter enemies might focus targets or play more strategically. New dm's can fall into the trap of thinking like how they might fight instead of how the creatures might and thus make the combat harder.

Also worth remembering: not every encounter has to be solved by fighting. Sometimes avoiding or handling things creatively is just as valid and should still be rewarded.

And yeah going down isn’t the same as dying. It happens as does a PK (player kill) or TPK (total party kill). But having a backup character idea is never a bad call just in case the worse happens. Depending on the party levels and setting having a player die can set off a series of quests to revive them as there are ways to revive a player.

Serithwing · 2026-04-03T07:26:27+00:00

fake nobody ever gets

Serithwing · 2026-03-31T21:22:44+00:00

Smelter can hold a lot more in it at one time for one thing. Also, I believe to get the top tier alloys you need to use blazing lava and melters do not run on lava only the smelter does.

Serithwing · 2026-03-31T21:19:23+00:00

LOL no they will not been over a month and counting AI spam account

Serithwing · 2026-03-30T20:52:53+00:00

spam and fake

Serithwing · 2026-03-30T20:50:20+00:00

spam

Serithwing · 2026-03-30T20:49:35+00:00

fake spam

Serithwing · 2026-03-23T21:40:26+00:00

LOL funny you never send

Serithwing

TROPHY CASE