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<blockquote data-quote="Rechan" data-source="post: 5780434" data-attributes="member: 54846"><p>Congrats! That's how I started DMing so good luck.</p><p></p><p>Ok. First thing's first: Relax. This is about having fun (including your own fun), not being <em>right</em>. If you realize you don't know a rule, make a call on the spot and move on. These guys don't know gaming nor the rules, they won't know the difference. The only thing you want to avoid is Boredom, so keep things moving, keep them interested/doing something. If it looks like they're not having fun, end what's happening as smoothly as you can and move to the next thing. </p><p></p><p>With that out of the way: </p><p></p><p>1a) Start small. There's no reason to know every rule before you start, only know the rules you'll <em>need</em>. If you don't plan to use a skill challenge in your first session, ignore that section of the book. Starting small also includes your plot - there is no reason to try and shove an epic story down their throats while they are struggling with the rules. A simple dungeon crawl will do. Starting small also includes your Setting - don't create a huge world off the bat, your players won't get to see it, start with a town and it's immediate environ (or use something established, like the Nentir Vale). </p><p></p><p>1b) You might find it more useful to use a module or two first. Just to get the feel of DMing. This way you don't have to worry about adventure design or monster selection, you just use what the adventure tells you. If you want suggestions, we can help you with that. DO NOT USE <em>KEEP ON THE SHADOWFELL</em>.</p><p></p><p>2) Go slow with teaching the rules. Only teach them what's relevant at that moment, instead of trying to give them a big huge primer. Instructing them as to how to read a power, or how to read their character sheets, that's fine. But you don't need to explain initiative, the various actions in a combat round until they're in a fight. Don't explain healing until someone says "Whoa I need healing!" </p><p></p><p>If they have a question, you can answer that.</p><p></p><p>3) If someone wants to do something wacky ("I want to jump onto his head"), don't panic. Just roll with it. Say "Ok it's this hard to do, you have to roll to hit this number". Pick a number off page 42 of the DMG (or 108 from the DM book in the Dungeon Master's Kit). Pick a damage expression. The idea is to a) say yes, b) reward that type of thinking, and c) make a call and move on. </p><p></p><p>4) Anticipate that things will get off track. Players will do the unexpected. That is life. Don't force them, just roll with it. Also accept that players will get distracted with out-of-game talk and they'll lose focus.</p><p></p><p>5) Have a list of NPC names. Players will always ask "What's his name?" Just glance down, pick a name at random, make a note and go on. </p><p></p><p>6) When in doubt, roll the dice. If you need to make a call, roll the dice and act like you are checking numbers. If a player asks "Can I do this to get a bonus?" when in doubt, just say +2 or -2 and move on. </p><p></p><p>7) If it Stalls the Game, handle it after the session. This includes rules arguments, arguments over DM calls, someone is angry/upset over something, shopping/item creation, item identification/treasure clarification when you don't know. The point is, say "We'll go over it later, moving on". If it's a boring <em>scene</em> (talking to an NPC that the PCs don't care about for instance), summarize it and move on.</p><p></p><p>8) Don't hold fast to decisions made in that first session. If someone makes a character creation choice and they don't like it, let them change it with no fuss after that first session. The same works for the DM - if you say the town is Oakburg because you were on the spot, it's OK to change it to something else later. Think of this first session like a TV pilot - you can retcon it because it's the first episode and everyone is getting the feel for things. This also applies to rulings you do on the fly - look up the rule <em>after the session</em>, then learn from it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rechan, post: 5780434, member: 54846"] Congrats! That's how I started DMing so good luck. Ok. First thing's first: Relax. This is about having fun (including your own fun), not being [I]right[/I]. If you realize you don't know a rule, make a call on the spot and move on. These guys don't know gaming nor the rules, they won't know the difference. The only thing you want to avoid is Boredom, so keep things moving, keep them interested/doing something. If it looks like they're not having fun, end what's happening as smoothly as you can and move to the next thing. With that out of the way: 1a) Start small. There's no reason to know every rule before you start, only know the rules you'll [I]need[/I]. If you don't plan to use a skill challenge in your first session, ignore that section of the book. Starting small also includes your plot - there is no reason to try and shove an epic story down their throats while they are struggling with the rules. A simple dungeon crawl will do. Starting small also includes your Setting - don't create a huge world off the bat, your players won't get to see it, start with a town and it's immediate environ (or use something established, like the Nentir Vale). 1b) You might find it more useful to use a module or two first. Just to get the feel of DMing. This way you don't have to worry about adventure design or monster selection, you just use what the adventure tells you. If you want suggestions, we can help you with that. DO NOT USE [I]KEEP ON THE SHADOWFELL[/I]. 2) Go slow with teaching the rules. Only teach them what's relevant at that moment, instead of trying to give them a big huge primer. Instructing them as to how to read a power, or how to read their character sheets, that's fine. But you don't need to explain initiative, the various actions in a combat round until they're in a fight. Don't explain healing until someone says "Whoa I need healing!" If they have a question, you can answer that. 3) If someone wants to do something wacky ("I want to jump onto his head"), don't panic. Just roll with it. Say "Ok it's this hard to do, you have to roll to hit this number". Pick a number off page 42 of the DMG (or 108 from the DM book in the Dungeon Master's Kit). Pick a damage expression. The idea is to a) say yes, b) reward that type of thinking, and c) make a call and move on. 4) Anticipate that things will get off track. Players will do the unexpected. That is life. Don't force them, just roll with it. Also accept that players will get distracted with out-of-game talk and they'll lose focus. 5) Have a list of NPC names. Players will always ask "What's his name?" Just glance down, pick a name at random, make a note and go on. 6) When in doubt, roll the dice. If you need to make a call, roll the dice and act like you are checking numbers. If a player asks "Can I do this to get a bonus?" when in doubt, just say +2 or -2 and move on. 7) If it Stalls the Game, handle it after the session. This includes rules arguments, arguments over DM calls, someone is angry/upset over something, shopping/item creation, item identification/treasure clarification when you don't know. The point is, say "We'll go over it later, moving on". If it's a boring [i]scene[/i] (talking to an NPC that the PCs don't care about for instance), summarize it and move on. 8) Don't hold fast to decisions made in that first session. If someone makes a character creation choice and they don't like it, let them change it with no fuss after that first session. The same works for the DM - if you say the town is Oakburg because you were on the spot, it's OK to change it to something else later. Think of this first session like a TV pilot - you can retcon it because it's the first episode and everyone is getting the feel for things. This also applies to rulings you do on the fly - look up the rule [I]after the session[/I], then learn from it. [/QUOTE]
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