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Do you think that going through Lost Mines of Phandelver one time means you're no longer a beginning DM? A more direct answer is that the Starter and Beginner Sets are written so the table doesn't need to buy any books to enjoy them. They are designed to provide everyone at the table a taste of...

I have found that putting the PCs into the same status quo and then upsetting that status quo works nicely.

Yes. The Starter and Beginner Sets are pretty OK for what they do but walking someone through running the game is not the same as teaching them to do so. Are the adventures in those sets written in ways to actually teach people how to run and play? I have not seen that they are but I have not...

If the DMG is a Core Book it should absolutely be written with beginning DMs in mind. The biggest problems in the 5e Core Books all stem from the fact they were written for people who'd been playing D&D for a decade or two. Core Books written for new players cannot be anything other than an...

Yes. All that information is in the DMG. Much of it is buried in stuff that might not seem relevant to someone looking for it. Much of it is poorly thought out or at least does not do what the book says it does. There is approximately zero actual guidance as to why a DM would choose to run a...

Sometimes it's that the PCs have done a thing that triggers or causes it. Sometimes it's that the conflict is relevant to what the PCs are doing or pursuing. Sometimes I've put it to the dice and gotten a result that indicates something needs to happen.

If I need game-type stats for a conflict I make sure I have those. Sometimes that means finding them in a book. Sometimes that means otherwise determining them. If I need to know the oppositions goals or limits or tactics I make sure I have those. Since I'm probably running in a homebrew...

The article makes it pretty clear that Duskvol has the information to play Blades in the Dark there. It would be nice if more D&D settings had the information to play D&D there. They usually have a lot of information I don't want and just a little of the information I do.

I do not normally take such things away from PCs but in this case I think I'd make an exception. It seems reasonable to rule that if the warlock PC trades out the invocation they lose access to its benefits.

I have found it helpful to have a broad map of whatever city I'm using at a neighborhood level. Ideally there'd be things like what things are in what neighborhoods or at least some place names. If there are groups of any sort at work or play in the city it is useful to know where they are based...

Surrealism can work well but it is also easy to overdo it. I've had some success with some places and some scenarios being particularly weird. I think trying to make the entire setting be surreal would be difficult and probably too much.

I mostly keep the results of the dice I roll secret from the players. I do not change the results of the dice I roll. I sometimes roll a bunch of dice and line them up so the players don't know I'm using a die roll for whatever. I agree with the statement above about ignoring dice results on...

Do not underestimate the appeal of "It's in print."

If I were to use Inspiration I would prefer a mechanic on the lines of a pool where if the players use it it becomes available to the DM and vice versa. I have no idea how I'd square that with the mechanics in the 1D&D playtest but I am clinging to the hope those will change between now and...

If you are operating under the not-unusual expectation the PCs will be heroes it makes sense the outcome here would generate some cognitive dissonance. It can be difficult to square that expectation with the sort of decisions your PCs made here.

This very much aligns to my own experiences. While my journey though different games and different styles of play and GMing has been different from yours I have also kept coming back to D&D. I think the biggest advantage for me is that you can almost always find a table or a DM or players. This...

One of them summons things. One of them lives in a wardrobe. One of them is a D&D character class.

I wouldn't worry about it. You can accomplish a lot just by putting the right words in the right order even if those words in that order do not generate any imagery for you. I agree with the others who have said you're probably doing something pretty right to have people returning to your games...

I think sticking with the outcome of play was the right choice here. I have generally found it better to deal with the outcomes of the choices as they fell out around the table than to try to arrange things to my own preferences. You can always bounce new ideas off of repercussions or other...