D&D General How to DM, best resource

It is available as on Kindle and audible, I have it in all 3 formats. I "read" it via audible, and use the book and e book for reference.

Also not all 11 year old are the same, young people have time and drive so if they are interested in a subject the more "advanced" information is better suited to some.

You know your kid better than any of us do.

It is not light reading, but it is a great resource, and can be read and digested in smaller pieces than the whole book. Like many reference books it is a tool not entertainment.

J-H said:

If your 11 year old wanted to be a DM, what is the one best resource you would point that kid to?
I know there are several books out there. There are also a number of websites, although some (Angry DM) are not child appropriate.

I'm specifically wanting something that covers the basics of running the table, the DM's role as facilitator and not star, basic plot and encounter design, and... well, there's a lot.

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Is the plan to run published adventures in a published setting?
If so, I don't think you will need to focus on basic plot and encounter design in the beginning.

Brendan Byrd said:

Is the plan to run published adventures in a published setting?
If so, I don't think you will need to focus on basic plot and encounter design in the beginning.

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Eh, probably not. The only WOTC-written adventure I've ever played is RHOD. I may start him with a few short one-shots from the DM's Guild, but he and his little brother have been doing their own adventures together for several years, including a long running "button quest" with buttons, their version of a "Knights and Dinosaurs" game I did first, and some notepad/drawing based Descent (the 1990s computer game) mazes. I'm sure he'll want to come up with his own material.

I just want it to go better than the time he ran Heroquest (from a published or downloaded map) and decided that there should be a collapsing ceiling that cut off the exit permanently and also summoned 8 enemies into the room with the party all at once.

J-H said:

Thanks everyone. It sounds like Justin Alexander's book is going to be the way to go.

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There's nothing Alexander can teach that isn't better taught by Coville or Ginni D, without the ego.

Reynard said:

There's nothing Alexander can teach that isn't better taught by Coville or Ginni D, without the ego.

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I believe the inverse is far more true.

J-H said:

Thanks everyone. It sounds like Justin Alexander's book is going to be the way to go.

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This is a bad call for most 11 year olds that I know.

If the kid and their friends know enough to generate characters, then a simple levels 1-3 adventure will let them sit down and play right away. Frozen Sick, which is free on DDB, is the best I know, but there are plenty of others.

If they’re starting from scratch, one of the 5e starter kits with premade characters. The important thing is to get them playing as quickly as possible. Let them learn by doing.

I would definitely start them on 5e if you want to make it much, much easier for them to find a peer group to play with. I wouldn’t start them with a 500+ page book or a book of theory on how to DM.

Enrahim said:

I cannot understand why noone is mentioning any starter set? Have they become so bad at teaching the game?

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Yes, yes they are.
The first starter set had subpar teaching material, coupled with a great adventure, lost mines of phandelver.
They fixed the disparity in the next starter set, coupling the subpar teaching material with a subpar adventure.

Ok, jokes apart: the first starter set have some nice set of beginner's rules and pregens, but the DM have no guidance on how to run the adventure. Some little bits but nothing more. I can see new people confused by just opening that box and trying to play.

The next starter set, Dragons of Stormwreck isle, is a smaller adventure, with some guidance, and some QR codes that links to video. This game had good written teaching tools, why tying to video and internet?

Essentials Kit is more a box for new players but with an experienced DM.

But both have the same problem: at the end of the adventure, you can not do more with them: if you want to continue, you have to buy the core books. No tools are provided to replay the box. It's a demo of the game

Think of the Pathfinder 2e box: that is a "complete" game, at the end there are tools to create some adventures. The game will wear out of levels, monsters and treasure, then you will want to buy the core books, but the starter can be replied until your heart desire, just like the red box of 80s D&D.

Clint_L said:

This is a bad call for most 11 year olds that I know.

If the kid and their friends know enough to generate characters, then a simple levels 1-3 adventure will let them sit down and play right away. Frozen Sick, which is free on DDB, is the best I know, but there are plenty of others.

If they’re starting from scratch, one of the 5e starter kits with premade characters. The important thing is to get them playing as quickly as possible. Let them learn by doing.

I would definitely start them on 5e if you want to make it much, much easier for them to find a peer group to play with. I wouldn’t start them with a 500+ page book or a book of theory on how to DM.

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Well, the book starts with a simple adventure and teaches how to run it. It continues with the basics of running dungeons, and after that provides several tools for more specialized adventure types. You don't need to read the book front to back. In fact, i think it is specifically designed to be used on a 'need right now' basis.

Reynard said:

There's nothing Alexander can teach that isn't better taught by Coville or Ginni D, without the ego.

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As I never met the guy in person, I don't know anything about his ego, but I think Justin Alexander offers amazing tools. His works continue to help me greatly at the table.
Colville got me running my first session in no time, though, so I would always recommend.
And while I really like the content from Ginny, I find it more entertaining than a source of knowledge. Might be just me, though, and while I generally agree with her takes, I never took enough away from her videos to really get any benefit during prep or running.