D&D 5E New to D&D and made DM. Help?!?!

[ValiantViolet]

So my friends and some of their friends are going to be starting a D&D campaign. There are going to be 6 of us with the possibility of a 7th (although, I really hope not.) Everyone is pretty much new to D&D have only played one or two tiny campaigns, if at all. I thought being a DM sounded like a fun thing to organize so I volunteered (because no one else wanted to do it.) I have never played D&D before and honestly I think it might have been a bit silly of me to agree but I'm willing to put in the the work for it to be good.


I have already started to read the dungeon masters guide, and after I'm finished with that I'll read the players handbook and the monster manual. I have also been watching some of Critical Role on YouTube and have been watching Geek and Sundry's GM Tips. Please let me know if there are any other helpful Youtube Videos or Articles that will help me.


I am going to start us out doing one of the D&D adventure books. None of us want to do the starter set and we want a longer campaign. The Curse of Strahd looks really interesting and cool. Most of us would like to do this campaign but from what I understand this is not a very good for a beginner groupand a beginner DM. If anyone has any tips for us to be able to play this as our first campaign that would be great but I will probably do this as our second.


Princes of the Apocalypse looks really cool, as well as, Out of the Abyss. I am not sure if I understand exactly what Tales of the Yawning Portal is but is seems like something you would add onto a campaign you have already started. Is this correct? Storm King's Thunder also looks really neat but I have heard that this one is difficult to start off with as well. But not as much as Curse of Strahd. The others do not hold any interest to me or anyone else in the group.


So which one of these do you think would be best for a beginner group like our's, and that is also not too difficult for a brand new DM? Any tips you could give us?

 

[Tony Vargas]

Lost Mine of Phandelver is supposed to be a good intro.

Seriously, though, if there's any way you guys can hook up with some AL venue or something and get some play experience first before trying to run, that'd be good idea.

 

[WarpedAcorn]

Lost Mine of Phandelver is supposed to be a good intro.

Seriously, though, if there's any way you guys can hook up with some AL venue or something and get some play experience first before trying to run, that'd be good idea.

This is excellent advice. I was basically going to post the same. The Lost Mine is created for your exact situation. Also, if you can't do an Adventurer's League in your area in time, check YouTube for some videos of people playing through a module and get some hints from there.

However, remember that you and everyone is going to make mistakes and misread rules. As the DM your say is final though, just maybe add the caveat that you will look into the ruling for next time. The big key is if everyone is having fun. If people are having fun then good job. If not, try to course correct as best you can. If you can't then come back here and there are plenty of experienced people on this forums who can offer good advice.

Good luck! =)

 

[Barolo]

First of all: Oh, man, you have your group of buddies, lucky you, don't listen to anybody telling you not to risk yourself, just go for it. You will mess up some, but it will be fun, memorable, and you guys will learn together. A lot of people here started playing very young with other young folks with no experience, no adventurers league, no web-forums to run for advice, actually no internet or computers at all and it all ended up just fine.

Second: about your question. Well, if you really want a full campaign, from the list of adventure paths you presented, maybe Princes of the Apocalypse is a little more newbie-friendly. But if you also have access to Tales of the Yawning Portal, the Sunless Citadel is a nice little introductory adventure. If you can put your hands on the Lost Mine, as previously mentioned, even better.

 

[Tony Vargas]

A lot of people here started playing very young with other young folks with no experience, no adventurers league, no web-forums to run for advice, actually no internet or computers at all and it all ended up just fine.

Sure, we did, we're the ones still in the hobby 40 years later.

 

[rgoodbb]

I feel ya!

Critical role is a great watch (for your players as well as you) Mercer is a good and inspiring role model but beware that group have modified some rules. Acquisitions Inc at pax west, east etc. has been going on with Chris Perkins from WOTC and they have a lot of fun.

Any specific questions, keep posting them and I have found that this community is pretty great at answering them.

If this gives you encouragement, this is my account of my first session as DM.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?519477-Why-did-I-wait-so-long-to-DM

However it goes, have fun and Welcome to Enworld!

 

[Quickleaf]

I've coached a few new DMs, but never one who literally had no experience playing D&D prior to DMing. I'd recommend finding a game you can drop in on and play or observe (game stores often have organized play events). If no face-to-face option exists, you could join an online game on Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds or even Google Hangouts. Having that experience as a baseline is really important.

Actually, I'll even offer to do an Intro to DMing 90-120 minute session over Skype / Google Hangouts if a couple folks are interested. I've been seeing a lot of new DMs on ENWorld and I think something like that could be helpful.

One tip I wished I'd received when I was 10-11 and DMing for my first time is to write down a "cheat sheet" containing basic info about each PC - their name, PC name, class/race/background, Armor Class (AC), passive Perception, darkvision, saving throws, and any special defenses or senses. You may find there are some things you want to be able to see at a glimpse...for example, I like having 2-3 story points about each PC right there on my cheat sheet; it helps me remember detail & reminds me to focus the story on *them*, not some "pet storyline" I have. Nothing wrong with "pet storylines", but those should only be indulged once the DM has an a game strongly focused on the PCs...at least IMO.

I'll recommend to you Web DM on YouTube - lots of good advice for new DMs.

 

[rgoodbb]

Actually, I'll even offer to do an Intro to DMing 90-120 minute session over Skype / Google Hangouts if a couple folks are interested. I've been seeing a lot of new DMs on ENWorld and I think something like that could be helpful.

That's pretty amazing Quickleaf.

Seriously ValiantViolet, take him up on that! If I were more savvy with skype/google etc. I certainly would.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Seriously ValiantViolet, take him up on that! If I were more savvy with skype/google etc. I certainly would.

Everything I've seen of Quickleaf around here over the years - and he's a stand-out in the community - points to him being a very knowledgeable DM. I second the endorsement.

 

[aco175]

I would add to try and stay organized with encounters. I like to print off the stat blocks of the monsters for each encounter. I can just write on the printouts for things like spell used or hit points and such. Also try and stay organized with the NPCs and the world around the PCs. If the bartender is named Varl, then the next time the party comes back to town have him recognize the PCs and invite them over. If something changes then you have an adventure idea, but it is best to stay with a printed adventure until you get the feet wet.

Have fun and enjoy the game together. Tell the players up front that if you make mistakes to be cool about changing things for next time or taking something back. If you give out a magic item that is too powerful, just tell the players and take it back while trying to give the PC something to make up for it. If you have a spell go one way only to discover it does something different, tell the players and change it for next time. Rule 1, have fun.