Hey all I've been a player for 5e for about 6 months now and it's pretry awesome. I am thinking about starting my own campain,creating my own world from scratch. I would like some advice , as do you create stats for every npc? Is there a good map generator somewhere for city's wilderness and dungeons, or do you simply make your own. I have some really good ideas for starters but may need a little insight on getting there. Thanks so much
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D&D 5E DMing Help
- Thread starter Baldguy33
- Start date
Wik
First Post
A few pieces of general advice:
1. Read the DMG from start to finish.
2. Be prepared to make mistakes.
3. Keep going forward.
4. Make sure it's fun, not just for you, but for your players.
5. Seriously - it's not just about you. If you want to create a world and shoehorn the players into it, you're better off writing a novel.
Now, to answer your direct questions:
do you create stats for every npc?
Oh, god no. In fact, I'd say I create stats for about, maybe, 5% of the NPCs that are encountered (excluding anything I expect the PCs to fight, of course).
Generally, you'll get by with just a personality trait or two, and maybe some rough idea of what the NPC is capable of. If the PCs try to kill the NPC, that's when you open the monster manual in a pinch and try to find a statblock that roughly corresponds to what you think the NPC is capable of.
Is there a good map generator somewhere for city's wilderness and dungeons, or do you simply make your own.
I make my own. For cities, I draw major roads on a piece of paper, as well as general terrain features like hills and rivers. I don't draw individual buildings, but put on the map the boundaries between major city neighbourhoods, where important buildings are, and all that.
For wilderness maps, I use hex paper, which I download online.
For dungeons, nothing beats graph paper, though I'll use plain ol' printer paper in a pinch. I make sure, when drawing dungeon maps, that they are not linear - that PCs can get through the dungeon in multiple pathways.
For all three types of maps, you can easily pinch them from online sources, modules, or whatever else. Real-world maps are totally viable, too, and at a smaller scale, won't easily be recognized by your players (for example, if you live in the US, you could easily just steal city maps from the UK or Europe and use them mostly unaltered).
I have some really good ideas for starters but may need a little insight on getting there.
Word of advice? Keep your ideas simple, and expect to adapt to player actions. Don't write out a plot outline! Saying "This happens, the PCs do X, and then this happens, and this awesome villain does this, and then this happens, and then this, and then there's this really badass fight in a burning castle, and then..."
Your players are going to make choices that will affect your plot outline. You're better off with a loose situation, a villain, and a goal for your villain.
As another piece of advice - maybe try running a pre-written dungeon first? There are a lot out there, and they often provide a great starting point for new GMs.
But in the end, just remember - have fun! And make sure your players have fun! Do these things, and you're golden.
1. Read the DMG from start to finish.
2. Be prepared to make mistakes.
3. Keep going forward.
4. Make sure it's fun, not just for you, but for your players.
5. Seriously - it's not just about you. If you want to create a world and shoehorn the players into it, you're better off writing a novel.
Now, to answer your direct questions:
do you create stats for every npc?
Oh, god no. In fact, I'd say I create stats for about, maybe, 5% of the NPCs that are encountered (excluding anything I expect the PCs to fight, of course).
Generally, you'll get by with just a personality trait or two, and maybe some rough idea of what the NPC is capable of. If the PCs try to kill the NPC, that's when you open the monster manual in a pinch and try to find a statblock that roughly corresponds to what you think the NPC is capable of.
Is there a good map generator somewhere for city's wilderness and dungeons, or do you simply make your own.
I make my own. For cities, I draw major roads on a piece of paper, as well as general terrain features like hills and rivers. I don't draw individual buildings, but put on the map the boundaries between major city neighbourhoods, where important buildings are, and all that.
For wilderness maps, I use hex paper, which I download online.
For dungeons, nothing beats graph paper, though I'll use plain ol' printer paper in a pinch. I make sure, when drawing dungeon maps, that they are not linear - that PCs can get through the dungeon in multiple pathways.
For all three types of maps, you can easily pinch them from online sources, modules, or whatever else. Real-world maps are totally viable, too, and at a smaller scale, won't easily be recognized by your players (for example, if you live in the US, you could easily just steal city maps from the UK or Europe and use them mostly unaltered).
I have some really good ideas for starters but may need a little insight on getting there.
Word of advice? Keep your ideas simple, and expect to adapt to player actions. Don't write out a plot outline! Saying "This happens, the PCs do X, and then this happens, and this awesome villain does this, and then this happens, and then this, and then there's this really badass fight in a burning castle, and then..."
Your players are going to make choices that will affect your plot outline. You're better off with a loose situation, a villain, and a goal for your villain.
As another piece of advice - maybe try running a pre-written dungeon first? There are a lot out there, and they often provide a great starting point for new GMs.
But in the end, just remember - have fun! And make sure your players have fun! Do these things, and you're golden.
ExploderWizard
Hero
Welcome to wonderful world of DMing. 
Don't try to do too much at once. This applies to the world as a whole, NPCs, adventure creation, etc. If you want to start playing in a world of your own creation, think about broad concepts but pick a single area to develop in a bit more detail.
In the beginning it can be a small town or village with some nearby adventure locations. The rest of the area around it can remain sketchy until the players move to explore it.
I would only worry about NPCs that will be involved with the players to start. You can create a few if you have good ideas for them and fit them in later. The MM has some ready made stats for common NPC types. Using these as templates to create your own will save a lot of work.
You can get by with a small amount of adventure material too. Just a few levels worth until you get a feel for what types of things interest your players.
Expand everything slowly as the campaign progresses. Keep all your material even if some of it doesn't get used when you thought it would. Over time you will build your DM master library of adventure material, NPCs, and other world details. Thus every campaign beyond the first will have more and more detail and material already prepared for it.
Last but not least, remember to have fun. Game prep should be fun and engaging too. If you find that it isn't then check and see what isn't fun about it and why. I'm running three different campaigns now and I enjoy preparing for all of them.
Don't try to do too much at once. This applies to the world as a whole, NPCs, adventure creation, etc. If you want to start playing in a world of your own creation, think about broad concepts but pick a single area to develop in a bit more detail.
In the beginning it can be a small town or village with some nearby adventure locations. The rest of the area around it can remain sketchy until the players move to explore it.
I would only worry about NPCs that will be involved with the players to start. You can create a few if you have good ideas for them and fit them in later. The MM has some ready made stats for common NPC types. Using these as templates to create your own will save a lot of work.
You can get by with a small amount of adventure material too. Just a few levels worth until you get a feel for what types of things interest your players.
Expand everything slowly as the campaign progresses. Keep all your material even if some of it doesn't get used when you thought it would. Over time you will build your DM master library of adventure material, NPCs, and other world details. Thus every campaign beyond the first will have more and more detail and material already prepared for it.
Last but not least, remember to have fun. Game prep should be fun and engaging too. If you find that it isn't then check and see what isn't fun about it and why. I'm running three different campaigns now and I enjoy preparing for all of them.
juggerulez
First Post
Not to curb your enthusiasm but I'd rather suggest you to run a pre generated adventure first, so you get the general idea of how to run things.
I started DMing as you wanna do, and I ended up loosing focus on the adventure dragged by the players requests, until I couldn't keep up any more.
I welcome you too to "our" secret desire of world domination remember to have fun!
The players "don't have to have fun" by doing whatever they want, there must be consequences of their actions!
It's all fun and games until they start pillaging villages :v
I started DMing as you wanna do, and I ended up loosing focus on the adventure dragged by the players requests, until I couldn't keep up any more.
I welcome you too to "our" secret desire of world domination
remember to have fun!The players "don't have to have fun" by doing whatever they want, there must be consequences of their actions!
It's all fun and games until they start pillaging villages :v
My best suggestion would be to get the D&D Starter Set, but Lost Mines of Phandelver, the adventure contained within, is a great launching point for a new campaign. You can run the adventure until about 5th level, which should give you some time to get your feet set. Phadalin and the surroundings have several plot hooks that you can later expand, allowing you even more time before making your own stuff from scratch.
A similar option, but a bit trickier (since you have to do some conversion) would be to get a copy of B2 - Keep on the Borderlands. You could probably find it on drivethrurpg.com, and it's been a staple starting adventure for generations of D&D characters & players. It's set for an older edition, but it should be similar enough to adjust, using the monsters in the basic rules and monster manual.
If you're going to make your own stuff, I suggest starting small. Design a village or other small home area. Figure out how the place runs (government, religion, power figures, etc.), and detail out a few npcs and locations. Design an adventure either here, or nearby, and use this as a home base, where the party resupplies, gets information, and rests safely. As you run adventures, slowly drop hints about things further away (rumors, travelers, etc.), and slowly grow your world in this way.
A similar option, but a bit trickier (since you have to do some conversion) would be to get a copy of B2 - Keep on the Borderlands. You could probably find it on drivethrurpg.com, and it's been a staple starting adventure for generations of D&D characters & players. It's set for an older edition, but it should be similar enough to adjust, using the monsters in the basic rules and monster manual.
If you're going to make your own stuff, I suggest starting small. Design a village or other small home area. Figure out how the place runs (government, religion, power figures, etc.), and detail out a few npcs and locations. Design an adventure either here, or nearby, and use this as a home base, where the party resupplies, gets information, and rests safely. As you run adventures, slowly drop hints about things further away (rumors, travelers, etc.), and slowly grow your world in this way.
HEEGZ
First Post
prep means prepare, so a DM preps for a session or campaign by creating things ahead of time.
for encounters there are suggestions in the DMG. i repeat the advice to read through it, it will mostly answer your questions.
also, for encounters, if they seem too easy, add in some reinforcements. if they are too hard, reduce the monster's HP or have 1-2 of them flee the scene for some reason.
good luck
for encounters there are suggestions in the DMG. i repeat the advice to read through it, it will mostly answer your questions.
also, for encounters, if they seem too easy, add in some reinforcements. if they are too hard, reduce the monster's HP or have 1-2 of them flee the scene for some reason.
good luck
Wik
First Post
Prep = Preparation.
As for encounters - that is in the DMG. But a rule of thumb is, the Challenge of a monster is the level the party (of 3-5 members) should be when facing 2. So, a pair of challenge 1 monsters would be fine against 5 1st level PCs. This is just a rule of thumb. With those less than 1, don't overwhelm the PCs until they're higher level - no more than 6 individual monsters in any one fight, and use those sparingly.
With Prep, just do work where you think the PCs will visit. At first, you'll overprep and waste effort. Which is fine. You can re-use unvisited locales later on. As you get better, you're better able to predict your players, and can use your prep time super well. At this point in my GMing career, for example, I've got it set so that for every hour or so of prep I do, I can easily get six or so hours of table-play. Last friday I prepped an entire session's worth of material in less than an hour!
Compare that to when I started, where I'd be lucky to get an hour worth of play time out of an worth of prep.
Quickleaf
Legend
Break on thru to the GM side! It's more work, but it's very rewarding.
Some of the resources I highly recommend for GMing 5e are:
5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide & Monster Manual. Great books. Get 'em and love 'em.
http://donjon.bin.sh/ Seriously, explore this site, there are random generators galore.
http://kobold.club/fight/#/encounter-builder For doing quick maths based on DMG encounter guidelines.
http://asmor.com/5e/spellbook/ An online spellbook - not full descriptions, you'll need books or google-fu for that - but good for organization.
http://www.hexographer.com/ Great resource for old school hex world mapping. Free, with greatly increased utility for sale.
I do not stat up every NPC, only those that are pivotal to the adventure. In many cases, you can just default to one of the NPCs in the Monster Manual appendix.
For maps, I either make my own in GIMP using resources scavenged or purchased on the 'Net, or if I'm pressed for time I find maps online. There were also a lot of great map sets released by Wizards of the Coast during the lifespan of 4e that I recommend if your group's into maps and minis/tokens.
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