How To Teach New DMs (Dungeon crawling, etc.)

[Lanefan]

I'd give new DM's three guidelines:

1. Try to see - and then describe - the world their PC experiences through all their sense. Sight of course, but smells, temperature, humidity/air quality, and textures should also be described. As DM, the more immersive the description, the more fulfilling for the player.

2. Know the rules well enough to run the game but its ok if you make mistakes (we all do). Most of the time the players will never know. If they do call you out, don't be defensive. Roll with it, and don't be afraid to recon.

3. Your alignment is Neutral Fun. Neutral in that part of the game is letting the dice fall where they may. Fun in that even in PC failure/death, your group can have fun. One of the best parts of the game are the stories we tell later regarding our triumphs and epic failures.

I agree with all of this great advice except the bolded, with which I couldn't disagree more.

Retcons are perhaps the single biggest no-no a DM can pull. Instead, the advice should focus on accepting that your error has either a) now set precedent for the rest of that campaign or b) happened as a weird one-off but it won't and can't happen again; and in this light should also speak to taking the time to get rulings right rather than winging something off the cuff that you might later come to regret.

 

[Lidgar]

I agree with all of this greast advice except the bolded, with which I couldn't disagree more.

Retcons are perhaps the single biggest no-no a DM can pull. Instead, the advice should focus on accepting that your error has either a) now set precedent for the rest of that campaign or b) happened as a weird one-off but it won't and can't happen again; and in this light should also speak to taking the time to get rulings right rather than winging something off the cuff that you might later come to regret.

Well I think re-conns are fine, but I'll admit they are exceedingly rare at my table - but our groups are all highly experienced.

I think of tables with lots of new players, it might be a tool a DM wants to consider.

 

[Lanefan]

Well I think re-conns are fine, but I'll admit they are exceedingly rare at my table - but our groups are all highly experienced.

I think of tables with lots of new players, it might be a tool a DM wants to consider.

For me, tables with lots of new players are where it's even more important to set a tone of consistency and precedent - i.e. if something works a certain way once it'll always work that way - in order to give those players a sense that the game itself is neutral.

 

[Lidgar]

For me, tables with lots of new players are where it's even more important to set a tone of consistency and precedent - i.e. if something works a certain way once it'll always work that way - in order to give those players a sense that the game itself is neutral.

And I think this is why we can all agree there is no One True Way to DM, but instead lots of great styles and approaches DM's can chose from.

 

[billd91]

I thought we were past trying to teach DMs how to run the game?

Are we? Should we be? I know there are a lot of online resources, particularly youtube videos out there. But how many of them are actually instructive in the sense of actually going through the steps and telling people how the game generally works? And for those that are, how many of them are hidden in a sea of other videos of varying quality?

It's well known that players will view any information on how to run the game as WOTC trying to impose a sigular playstyle on the community.

Well known that people around here will do so. Not sure how widespread that is among the general D&D community.

One thing I've noticed is a relative dearth of examples of play other than a couple of sidebars in 5e or a half a page in 4e that largely describe a bit of exploration - but not much about combat or any other encounter. The Pathfinder Beginner Box from PF1 is a bit better in the sense that it does get into some depth about each of the pre-written encounters and how a DM can handle them. But otherwise, the assumption has been that people already have a handle on it compared to prior editions. And I'm not sure that's true.

 

[overgeeked]

How would YOU teach new DMs and GMs how to run a game? Feel free to talk about dungeon crawling, action resolution, hexcrawls, diplomacy, mysteries, or any other game structure (Game Structures) or campaign structure (Some Brief Thoughts on Campaign Structures) you think is important to know.

Dungeon crawls. Resources are king. Time, light, food, water, encumbrance, line of sight, sleeping in shifts, marching order, etc are what make or break a dungeon crawl. Without focusing on those, there's really no point to running a longer dungeon. Something you can do in a session or two, like a five-room dungeon, aren't what I'm talking about. Pick up an older edition of D&D (OD&D, B/X, BECMI, or AD&D) and play it straight. Everything you need is in there. Likely way more than you'd need. Pick up a free OSR module like Tomb of the Serpent Kings. Did I mention it's free? It's free. And it's designed specifically to teach players (and DMs) how old-school dungeon crawling works.

Action resolution. Only roll if the outcome isn't obvious from the fiction and there are interesting consequences from both success and failure. Make rolls about mid-way through whatever the task is, if it's not immediate. Like climbing walls or moving silently. You're already committed to the action, you're already mid-task, then you roll for it. Encourage the players to think, plan, and outwit obstacles instead of default to picking from the menu that is their character sheet. If they can divert the river and flood the dungeon without a single roll, they deserve every copper piece they can find in that dungeon. Interacting with the environment is the game. Don't skip that and just roll dice.

Hex crawls. Grab a map. Randomly generate points of interest. Drop in a starter town. Go.

Worlds Without Number is the single best resource for making hex crawls. Other great resources are the Hex Flower Cookbook, Azgaar's maps, Dyson Logo's maps, Dark of Hot Springs Island, Book of Challenges (3X), Dungeon Delve (4E), Keep on the Borderlands, Village of Homlet, Against the Cult of the Reptile God, The Mother of All Encounter Tables, The Mother of All Treasure Tables, Undying Sands, Five Torches Deep, Maze Rats, The Random Esoteric Creature Generator, Cairn, and so...so many more.

Absolutely stuff your hex map with interesting things to do. Make connections between the hexes and the inhabitants. This faction hates that faction because of whatever. So when the PCs blunder in they have choices to make and potential allies to win over. Wind up the PCs with promises of fortune and glory. Then set them loose and watch them bounce around the map for however long you're willing to run the thing. When they overcome something in one hex, give it a cool down timer for when something new moves in or the old thing comes back. The keep the goblins were living in won't stay empty forever. The Alexandrian has a article or series about this, I just don't remember what it's called.

Diplomacy. Great game. More people should play it. Matt Colville has a great series on politics in RPGs. (Use those videos as a primer on building factions for hex crawls.) It's well worth the watch. Run social situations like a game of Diplomacy. It's all about the player making choices, picking the right thing to say, and coming up with a persuasive argument. Yes, this means characters are only as persuasive as their players. That's a feature, not a bug. It works the same for INT and WIS. The player will never be able to think above their INT, substituting in a roll for players thinking is a problem for me.

Mysteries. The Alexandrian's three-clue rule is fantastic. As are his articles on node-based design. I haven't seen anything that comes close much less is better than those, so I'd point people to those happily.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Are we? Should we be? I know there are a lot of online resources, particularly youtube videos out there. But how many of them are actually instructive in the sense of actually going through the steps and telling people how the game generally works? And for those that are, how many of them are hidden in a sea of other videos of varying quality?

Well known that people around here will do so. Not sure how widespread that is among the general D&D community.

One thing I've noticed is a relative dearth of examples of play other than a couple of sidebars in 5e or a half a page in 4e that largely describe a bit of exploration - but not much about combat or any other encounter. The Pathfinder Beginner Box from PF1 is a bit better in the sense that it does get into some depth about each of the pre-written encounters and how a DM can handle them. But otherwise, the assumption has been that people already have a handle on it compared to prior editions. And I'm not sure that's true.

Having some newbie DMs flounder due to lack of guidance is a small price to pay to prevent another "Tranyanncy of Fun" from befalling us!

And besides, the Matt Mercer effect will handle teaching DMs how to run D&D.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Dungeon crawls. Resources are king. Time, light, food, water, encumbrance, line of sight, sleeping in shifts, marching order, etc are what make or break a dungeon crawl. Without focusing on those, there's really no point to running a longer dungeon. Something you can do in a session or two, like a five-room dungeon, aren't what I'm talking about. Pick up an older edition of D&D (OD&D, B/X, BECMI, or AD&D) and play it straight. Everything you need is in there. Likely way more than you'd need. Pick up a free OSR module like Tomb of the Serpent Kings. Did I mention it's free? It's free. And it's designed specifically to teach players (and DMs) how old-school dungeon crawling works.

Action resolution. Only roll if the outcome isn't obvious from the fiction and there are interesting consequences from both success and failure. Make rolls about mid-way through whatever the task is, if it's not immediate. Like climbing walls or moving silently. You're already committed to the action, you're already mid-task, then you roll for it. Encourage the players to think, plan, and outwit obstacles instead of default to picking from the menu that is their character sheet. If they can divert the river and flood the dungeon without a single roll, they deserve every copper piece they can find in that dungeon. Interacting with the environment is the game. Don't skip that and just roll dice.

Hex crawls. Grab a map. Randomly generate points of interest. Drop in a starter town. Go.

Worlds Without Number is the single best resource for making hex crawls. Other great resources are the Hex Flower Cookbook, Azgaar's maps, Dyson Logo's maps, Dark of Hot Springs Island, Book of Challenges (3X), Dungeon Delve (4E), Keep on the Borderlands, Village of Homlet, Against the Cult of the Reptile God, The Mother of All Encounter Tables, The Mother of All Treasure Tables, Undying Sands, Five Torches Deep, Maze Rats, The Random Esoteric Creature Generator, Cairn, and so...so many more.

Absolutely stuff your hex map with interesting things to do. Make connections between the hexes and the inhabitants. This faction hates that faction because of whatever. So when the PCs blunder in they have choices to make and potential allies to win over. Wind up the PCs with promises of fortune and glory. Then set them loose and watch them bounce around the map for however long you're willing to run the thing. When they overcome something in one hex, give it a cool down timer for when something new moves in or the old thing comes back. The keep the goblins were living in won't stay empty forever. The Alexandrian has a article or series about this, I just don't remember what it's called.

Diplomacy. Great game. More people should play it. Matt Colville has a great series on politics in RPGs. (Use those videos as a primer on building factions for hex crawls.) It's well worth the watch. Run social situations like a game of Diplomacy. It's all about the player making choices, picking the right thing to say, and coming up with a persuasive argument. Yes, this means characters are only as persuasive as their players. That's a feature, not a bug. It works the same for INT and WIS. The player will never be able to think above their INT, substituting in a roll for players thinking is a problem for me.

Mysteries. The Alexandrian's three-clue rule is fantastic. As are his articles on node-based design. I haven't seen anything that comes close much less is better than those, so I'd point people to those happily.

But what would you do to teach a new DM how to actually do these things? Say I'm a new DM. I read your advice: Grab a map. Randomly generate points of interest. Drop in a starter town. Go.

I grab a map of the Rocky Mountains. I, uh, draw some dragon lairs on the map and an obelisk 50 miles high and a few other ideas. I write New Chicago somewhere on the map.

How do I "Go"?

I hope that this thread will have lots of good instructions for new DMs.

 

[Emberashh]

How do I "Go"?

This is actually why I find in media res to be a great way to start out new campaigns. By dropping the players into the gameworld in the middle of some pressing situation, it provides an easy (and exciting and fun) means of kickstarting the gameplay loop.

Say you drop the players into some carts on their way to be executed by the Empire alongside some NPC rebels, lets call them Raincapes. You narrate this situation up to when the first player is about to have their neck noped, and SUDDENLY, a dragon appears and begins burning down the surrounding village. All is chaos, and the party slips their chains.

What, dear party, do you do?

Once you set up a prompt for them, they can respond back and then you're just off to the races.

Now, of course, you can just ask the question outright. You're in a town, what do you do?

But that isn't terribly interesting and while certainly serviceable if you don't have a greater narrative in mind that you'd like to nudge the party towards, it isn't always what you'd want to use, even in the middle of a campaign when you're wanting to take the party out of downtime.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Now, of course, you can just ask the question outright. You're in a town, what do you do?

Good point about in medias res, but our hypothetical new GM will still need to run the actual hexcrawl at some point. He needs to know that hexcrawls have action measured in hours or days, not minutes; someone needs to tell him what to do when players say "I go north". How far north? Where do I stop? What do I need to remember to make sure they know?

It's not too different from Dungeon Crawl procedure in the OP, but things like determining how far you can see ahead are more important. I'll see if I can write up directions, maybe.