DM Advice

[Al2O3]

The adventure works well for 4-5 players, not sure if anything changes much otherwise.

Compared to 4e the level 1 PCs are squishier, and I had half the party incapacitated in the Cragmaw Hideout. For the exploration of locations it can be good to draw them as the players explore (see of you can find the D&D team playing the adventure for an example). However, I have mostly not found it useful to keep track of all positions precisely enough to use a grid. The first encounter was over way too fast. Having something to show the scene can be good. Maybe use tokens or minis to show who are close together and the approximate position relative to others.

 

[ArwensDaughter]

Flag rules you think you will refer to often, and the pages with the maps.
If you don't have the DMG and PHB, download the free basic rules, at least for DMs and read through it.
If you will have a larger group, read through the encounter guidelines in the DMG (can't remember if they are in basic DM rules) and figure out how to adjust encounters. Keep in mind that new players aren't likely to know yet how to best use their abilities, so an easy encounter by the numbers may prove to be a medium or even hard one.
Run off copies of the spell book in the free player rules for spell casters to refer to. (Or have them load it up on their tablet or phone)
Be prepared to wing it; it's ok to make rulings on the fly rather than spend 15 minutes looking for the relevant rule.
Decide what rules you aren't going to worry about. I chose to ignore encumbrance, opportunity attacks and reactions, because I was already somewhat overwhelmed with learning the ropes. (I played ad&d in the 80s a bit, but hadn't played since until last year)
If you have access to the DMG, there's a section on running an adventure that's helpful.
Talk with your players about the three pillars (interaction, exploration, combat) and that the goal of the game is to have fun making a great story together.

 

[qo]

Everything that ArwensDaughter said!

We use a mix of TotM and a homemade grid with glass beads for monsters and personalised meeples for characters. Grid helps when you realise your descriptions aren't up to scratch. Or more accurately, my descriptions.

And there's a lot of text to wade through in the module to find the useful stuff - consider highlighting anything you think will be useful.

And I've found The Angry GM blog to be very useful with advice for new DMs (adjudicating actions, etc.).

 

[Rhenny]

Good advice so far.

I'll second the notion that 1st level pcs are squishy. At 1st level, Klaarg, the bugbear in the kobold hideout (I think that was his name) killed our fighter in one shot! (rolled a crit)

As a result, think through what might happen if a PC gets killed, or if the party goes down. Have contingencies ready. Also, use 1st level to get players' feet wet. Then get them to 2nd level after a few hours of play.

Also, like all adventures I run, think about the roleplaying opportunities in key encounters. Try to get the players (and the NPCs) to do more than just fight. (Intimidate, bargain, deceive, etc.) If you have the NPCs/foes try it a few times, it will show the players how options are possible. Also, pre-think how NPCs/foes will react to threats and don't always have them fight to the death...have them act according to "real" motivations.

We only played through a little of the adventure, but from what I've read, it is a great first adventure. Enjoy.

 

[Eltab]

Try to get the players (and the NPCs) to do more than just fight. (Intimidate, bargain, deceive, etc.) If you have the NPCs/foes try it a few times, it will show the players how options are possible.

+1
Especially if the PCs get themselves into a tight spot tactically / strategically, or just aren't running their characters "on full impulse power" yet.

Point out when the monsters cooperate and get tougher as a result (Pack Tactics, say) and encourage the players to find similar abilities for their own characters.
- Paladins and Fighters can create Sneak Attack conditions for the Rogue
- Focus fire on whoever looks like a leader until he drops, the Bard / Sorcerer / Paladin can try to Intimidate his followers into surrendering.

Discuss the "Help" action for a character that is not well-suited for the task at hand. "I helped too" > "I didn't do anything".

 

[Rya.Reisender]

Using the pregen characters worked perfectly for me, though indeed the rogue background has to be thought about quite a bit. It's best if he doesn't know the hideout. I found making him know the one who set him up worked very well. It can be the one that's at the pub (the one that's running away to warn the others, and also later the one that runs through the secret door in case the PCs take the main entrance).

Regarding difficulty: It's indeed balanced for 4 players. 5 players can be a bit easy, but I personally rebalanced it by thinking of clever monster strategies. Didn't need to add a single monster to keep it challenging. If you have a large amount of players, try to spread out your attacks a bit, so not all monsters gang up on one PC, since HP go to 0 fast.

One-hit kills can happen if you go by the standard rules, however, you always have the option to make an enemy use the "knock unconscious" attack instead of killing someone. If you wanna include AL rules you also have the option to get revival help from one of the factions (if you rescue Sildar for example, that might be quite a reasonable option).

 

[Kalshane]

I'll second going with Point Buy or Standard Array to start. While rolling for stats is classic D&D there's enough variables with new players that you don't want them to get soured on the game or a class because they rolled poorly, or one person rolled drastically better than everyone else.

Have pre-gens ready, but give them the option of making their own character. With the Standard Array character gen can go really quickly and it's tough for someone to cripple their character (short of putting the 8 in Con or a stat essential to their character class).

Don't be afraid to hand-hold them a little bit. Don't tell them what they should be doing, but if they reach a decision point and seem confused, give a brief listing of their options (while mentioning it's not an exhaustive list) and quick pros and cons for each. Or remind them they have a special ability that might be relevant to a situation. "You still have a bonus action left and that last blow left you pretty hurt. Would you like to use your Second Wind?" As others have mentioned, be a little more overt in describing monster attributes (ie "This monster gets to roll extra damage when attacking alongside an ally" or "The skeleton's ribcage shatters on impact from Mary's mace. The blunt force of the weapon seems to hurt it a lot more than Steve's axe did.")

 

[aco175]

I found LMoP to be a great starter module. There are several areas where it explains new 5e rules and suggestions for both players and DMs. I found it a good transition from 4e where the characters tend to start off more powerful. I also found another free module from Wizards for characters of level1-5. It is the first part of the elemental storyline. It comes with the npc's and monsters you need in the back of the book. I have not run this one yet, but looks just as good as the introductory LMoP.

 

[DMCF]

I agree with Pre-gens if they are new to D&D. LMoP has some tough fights in it. Better not to let them get too attached to the characters. It's a great module IMO. I wish I ran it instead of starting off some noobs with the sundering DND Next (5e alpha/beta) campaigns.