D&D 5E Advice on how not to feel like a lousy DM
- Thread starter Christopher Bixby
- Start date
Oofta
Legend
When it comes to making rules on the fly, I do it now and then especially if I want to keep the scene moving. Even then if it takes more than a minute I'll make a ruling and move on.
I'll double check the rule later and in most cases just let everyone know what the real rule is so that we remember if it comes up again. In theory I might retcon something if it there was some permanent negative effect, but it's never come up in all my years of DMing. Even if I ruled wrong, I just try to use the correct rule next time.
It's more important to keep the game flowing and to have fun than to be correct by the letter of the rules.
I'll double check the rule later and in most cases just let everyone know what the real rule is so that we remember if it comes up again. In theory I might retcon something if it there was some permanent negative effect, but it's never come up in all my years of DMing. Even if I ruled wrong, I just try to use the correct rule next time.
It's more important to keep the game flowing and to have fun than to be correct by the letter of the rules.
I agree, especially if it's something minor and non-reproducible. If I forgot that an NPC was resistant to the damage type the players dished out, then... too bad, I let it go and won't resurrect the NPC. If said NPC was supposed to add his STR bonus to damage and I forgot, I wouldn't say to the player "err, I forgot that in the last fight, please deduct 6 HP and drop dead". Winging it and letting it go when we speak of "one-off" ruling is easy.
If you didn't remember that only sentient beings are susceptible to Tasha's Hideous Laughter and had the spell work on an undead? That one undead who fell on the floor laughing was a weird skeleton whose spirit was lingering about, not the proof that all skeletons are sentient. Don't try and look up every spell even when in doubt because, as said above, keeping the game flowing is more important.
If the ruling is about a player capability, however , I'd say it's more difficult to manage, because your ruling might be reproducible: you have editorial powers on the world but much less on the PCs... If they ask you if they can use the Thorn Whip spell to grab an object across a chasm, you'd be better off looking it up (provided it can be found reasonably quickly) rather than make a ruling on the fly: players might feel "cheated" when you say afterwards that they won't be able to use their powers like that after it worked once... and if you generally rule "no" out of an abundance of caution when in doubt, you'll risk having a rule lawyer derailing the game even more by protesting the ruling.
aco175
Legend
I usually ask a player to look up a spell or rule while I'm getting to the monster's turn. I try to keep the action moving but sometimes I need to stop for a minute or two to get things closer to right then just winging it. At some point though I make a decision and look it up later.
Shadowdweller
Explorer
I've been DMing for decades. And things still go wrong...sometimes disastrously wrong. My personal advice?
* Accept that Sometimes Things Go Wrong: No plan survives first contact with the players. Try to have a sense of the underlying forces at play in the world and have enough back-up material that you can wing it when the players side with the BBEG, miss a critical clue, destroy or alienate important allies, or break the world.
* Don't Overprepare: Keep the game world flexible enough that you can improvise when instead of taking the left or right fork, the PCs travel to another dimension. You don't need exact stats or playlists for everything that's going to happen....just enough to improvise when the PCs take a particular course of action. IMHO it's actually counterproductive to overprepare....one can actually narrate one's self into a corner, create plot holes or non-fun adventures (aka "The Slog") if you don't respond to table needs. Let the PCs upend the world and react accordingly, it lets them feel their agency.
* Do Try to Anticipate What Could Go Wrong: Try to think about the ways the PCs could mess things up. If a character falls on the wrong side of plot-based challenges (e.g. ends up on trial for murder), consider how you're going to get the player back into the game ASAP. What if a PC with a long-term plot investment falls during a particularly lethal encounter? Do you really want to kill them? How are you going to mitigate the plot damage or the sting from the player's perspective? How are you going to keep things going if the players inadvertently set off the nuclear bomb spell in the middle of town? What are you going to do if the PCs decide they absolutely hate the quest-giver's guts?
* Don't Let the Seams Show: Don't apologize too much. Don't hyperfocus on your mistakes. Solicit feedback from the players and LISTEN, but not every five minutes. Bringing up your personal DM fails in front of the players too much focuses attention to said fails and results in a less pleasant experience. Remember that as DM you have artistic license to change rules and creatures around; be careful not to undercut player agency with this power, but don't be afraid to use it to improve the play experience. And be consistent about it. Change monsters around if you need before the fight not during the fight.
* Accept that Sometimes Things Go Wrong: No plan survives first contact with the players. Try to have a sense of the underlying forces at play in the world and have enough back-up material that you can wing it when the players side with the BBEG, miss a critical clue, destroy or alienate important allies, or break the world.
* Don't Overprepare: Keep the game world flexible enough that you can improvise when instead of taking the left or right fork, the PCs travel to another dimension. You don't need exact stats or playlists for everything that's going to happen....just enough to improvise when the PCs take a particular course of action. IMHO it's actually counterproductive to overprepare....one can actually narrate one's self into a corner, create plot holes or non-fun adventures (aka "The Slog") if you don't respond to table needs. Let the PCs upend the world and react accordingly, it lets them feel their agency.
* Do Try to Anticipate What Could Go Wrong: Try to think about the ways the PCs could mess things up. If a character falls on the wrong side of plot-based challenges (e.g. ends up on trial for murder), consider how you're going to get the player back into the game ASAP. What if a PC with a long-term plot investment falls during a particularly lethal encounter? Do you really want to kill them? How are you going to mitigate the plot damage or the sting from the player's perspective? How are you going to keep things going if the players inadvertently set off the nuclear bomb spell in the middle of town? What are you going to do if the PCs decide they absolutely hate the quest-giver's guts?
* Don't Let the Seams Show: Don't apologize too much. Don't hyperfocus on your mistakes. Solicit feedback from the players and LISTEN, but not every five minutes. Bringing up your personal DM fails in front of the players too much focuses attention to said fails and results in a less pleasant experience. Remember that as DM you have artistic license to change rules and creatures around; be careful not to undercut player agency with this power, but don't be afraid to use it to improve the play experience. And be consistent about it. Change monsters around if you need before the fight not during the fight.
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
DMing is something you learn to do through experience, study, and honing your craft.
It's also okay to make mistakes, because when you pay attention to your mistakes and try to do better the next time, that's how you get better. No one ever learns to improve by succeeding all the time.
I'm so jealous of new DMs these days. There are so many people giving good advice, whereas in the old days, we were often left bumbling along or the advice that was out there was terrible. There are a couple of YouTube advice vloggers I like.
The DM's Lair
How to Be A Great Game Master
Seth Skorkowsky
Taking20
And finally, one thing I want to point out is that you're worrying about being a lousy DM is a great first step. The truly terrible DMs out there never question if they're a bad DM or not.
It's also okay to make mistakes, because when you pay attention to your mistakes and try to do better the next time, that's how you get better. No one ever learns to improve by succeeding all the time.
I'm so jealous of new DMs these days. There are so many people giving good advice, whereas in the old days, we were often left bumbling along or the advice that was out there was terrible. There are a couple of YouTube advice vloggers I like.
The DM's Lair
How to Be A Great Game Master
Seth Skorkowsky
Taking20
And finally, one thing I want to point out is that you're worrying about being a lousy DM is a great first step. The truly terrible DMs out there never question if they're a bad DM or not.
Definitely. I suspect almost every DM feels that way at some point during the first few sessions.
A few things to remember:
1. Your players want you to succeed, because that means fun for everyone. This means they'll be willing to work with you to get over bumps.
2. It will get easier. Once you've got a few sessions under your belt and a story is underway, it will develop its own momentum.
3. At the same time, you can spend your whole life DMing and never reach the point where you have nothing left to learn. (So don't kick yourself for not reaching a standard that's unattainable anyway.)
The wealth of DM advice available online today is a mixed blessing. Yes, it's nice to draw on the experience of dozens of long-time DMs, or watch personalities like Matt Colville, Matt Mercer, and Chris Perkins do their thing.
However, all that advice has fostered unrealistically high expectations of the role of a DM. It takes years to become a skilled and confident DM. You have to start small - both in scope and in expectations. All of those famous DMs started with dungeons that afforded only narrow range of actions. They didn't create whole societies, plot world-shaping plotlines, and write up deep backstories for every NPC. Not until they had been DMing for years. They started with Keep on the Borderlands, the Village of Hommlet, and other small-scale dungeon adventures.
So start with a small village or inn with a couple NPCs. A ruined temple or fort with six or seven encounters. PCs who are travelling explorers or tomb-raiders. This is a manageable scope of play for novice DMs.
And it's conventional advice to use published materials when you start. But many adventures today are 36+ pages of walls of text with an enormous amount of background and details to learn - much of which is unlikely to ever come up in actual play at the table. The advantage of creating your own material is you can A) make it very small and manageable in scope, and B) you won't have trouble memorizing it.
However, all that advice has fostered unrealistically high expectations of the role of a DM. It takes years to become a skilled and confident DM. You have to start small - both in scope and in expectations. All of those famous DMs started with dungeons that afforded only narrow range of actions. They didn't create whole societies, plot world-shaping plotlines, and write up deep backstories for every NPC. Not until they had been DMing for years. They started with Keep on the Borderlands, the Village of Hommlet, and other small-scale dungeon adventures.
So start with a small village or inn with a couple NPCs. A ruined temple or fort with six or seven encounters. PCs who are travelling explorers or tomb-raiders. This is a manageable scope of play for novice DMs.
And it's conventional advice to use published materials when you start. But many adventures today are 36+ pages of walls of text with an enormous amount of background and details to learn - much of which is unlikely to ever come up in actual play at the table. The advantage of creating your own material is you can A) make it very small and manageable in scope, and B) you won't have trouble memorizing it.
L
lowkey13
Guest
*Deleted by user*
To add to the list of resources others have suggested, here are some of my favorites:
Odyssey: The Complete Gamemaster's Guide to Campaign Management
Sly Flourish's series of articles for the new DM, especially the guide to building combat encounters (A New Dungeon Master's Guide For Building Encounters: Sly Flourish).
Five-Room Dungeon technique: The Ultimate Guide to 5 Room Dungeons
Odyssey: The Complete Gamemaster's Guide to Campaign Management
Sly Flourish's series of articles for the new DM, especially the guide to building combat encounters (A New Dungeon Master's Guide For Building Encounters: Sly Flourish).
Five-Room Dungeon technique: The Ultimate Guide to 5 Room Dungeons
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