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Advice on how not to feel like a lousy DM
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<blockquote data-quote="aco175" data-source="post: 7863917" data-attributes="member: 27385"><p>It is hard to not feel like you are doing something wrong when you think things are not going right. You will do some things right and some not so right. The players are a good gauge to tell you something. If everyone is having fun, then you are doing most things right. A lot depends on the players and if they are strangers or family/friends. Keep at it and it gets better/easier like most things like sports and writing.</p><p></p><p>If you are new to being a DM then you should get a pre-made module like <strong>Lost Mines of Phandalin (LMoP) </strong>or even a module from <strong>DMsGuild</strong> to help you through the first few adventures. As you go along add more things that can tie to players and their PCs. If the players are new as well you may need to add things slower or gloss over some of this until later. </p><p></p><p>A last bit I have used a lot when needed is to have a fight planned for when things get slow. If the PCs are in town and half the players are bored with the thief sneaking around, throw some bandits or giant rats at them. This will bring the distracted players back as the dice start to roll. I have even managed to draw out a whole night of gaming on a side fight when the PCs followed up on the attacks and I needed to do everything on the fly.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="aco175, post: 7863917, member: 27385"] It is hard to not feel like you are doing something wrong when you think things are not going right. You will do some things right and some not so right. The players are a good gauge to tell you something. If everyone is having fun, then you are doing most things right. A lot depends on the players and if they are strangers or family/friends. Keep at it and it gets better/easier like most things like sports and writing. If you are new to being a DM then you should get a pre-made module like [B]Lost Mines of Phandalin (LMoP) [/B]or even a module from [B]DMsGuild[/B] to help you through the first few adventures. As you go along add more things that can tie to players and their PCs. If the players are new as well you may need to add things slower or gloss over some of this until later. A last bit I have used a lot when needed is to have a fight planned for when things get slow. If the PCs are in town and half the players are bored with the thief sneaking around, throw some bandits or giant rats at them. This will bring the distracted players back as the dice start to roll. I have even managed to draw out a whole night of gaming on a side fight when the PCs followed up on the attacks and I needed to do everything on the fly. [/QUOTE]
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