D&D 5E Dungeons & Dragons Boom!

SovietDM · Aug 25, 2019

Most of us know that D&D has had a boom in popularity recently due to the many references to it in modern pop culture, with it's appearance in Stranger Things being the highest contributor to it's rise in popularity. "In 2017 alone, we had more than 7,500 unique broadcasters streaming live play D&D for more than 475 million minutes watched over the course of the entire year." -Greg Tito, senior communications manager for D&D.

While this boom in popularity is welcome by all, a small problem has been noticed. Most of the people that have recently started playing D&D have started playing as the players, not the DM. This makes sense, but what ends up happening is most of the DMs only welcome 4 or 5 in their group, so many players end up without a DM. How can we stop this from happening? Well for starters, I advise DMs to take as many adventurers as you feel comfortable with, then build off of that. If you only feel comfortable DMing 4 adventurers, do 5, 5 adventurers, 6, and so on. It's easiest to use this method when playing D&D online. If you're DMing a pre-made adventure that is only built for 4 or 5 players, just add more monsters. Xanathar's Guide to Everything gives a good encounter-building method that is helpful if you are taking more adventurers than recommended for certain adventures. Also, while it is good to have more adventurers, I wouldn't recommend DMing more than 8 adventurers. This adventure would not only be difficult to DM, but combat would take forever, and the adventurers would lose interest. Another thing I recommend is for DMs to teach on or two of the players they already have how to be a Dungeon master. This is especially recommended if you have too many adventurers. I hope you take my advice, and I wish the best adventures for everyone!

Hussar · Aug 25, 2019

Frankly, I think the better advice is to tell players to pony up and get behind the screen.

SovietDM · Aug 25, 2019

If you mean playing D&D online, I agree. I have recently got into playing D&D online, and have found it rather enjoying.

Hussar · Aug 25, 2019

Sorry, no, that wasn't clear. I meant the DM's screen. As in get off your duff, sit in the big daddy chair and run a game. Don't wait for someone else. If your group doesn't have at least two players in it with DMing experience, you need to fix that.

SovietDM · Aug 25, 2019

OH! Dang it! Sorry, I can't believe I misunderstood that. But I agree, one of my adventuring groups we does have another with DMing experience, althoug he doesn't get "behind the screen" much.

Reynard · Aug 25, 2019

More players can, after a certain point (based somewhat on the skill of the DM), result in a poorer play experience.

What we need is for current, experienced DMs to teach and mentor new DMs. I am, just by way of example, running a DMing 101 game at one of the mid sized regional cons this fall. If it goes well I will do more of that.

This hobby lives and dies off people willing to run the game. We should be encouraging folks to step up, not demanding existing DMs take on ever more players.

SovietDM · Aug 25, 2019

The many players is more of a short term option until there are more DMs.

ad_hoc · Aug 25, 2019

I guess I'm not one of the 'most people' who know that.

I disagree about Stranger Things being the greatest contributor to 5e's popularity.

It came out a full 2 years after 5e was released. The momentum train was already well underway.

I actually think the greatest contributor is what you think is lacking. I think 5e is easy to teach and people are becoming DMs and starting new groups shortly after introduction to the game. The new table has new players, some of whom will start new groups and so on.

Further, D&D has been featured in popular culture for a long time. Yes, the rise of streaming helps, but I think it is mostly the game itself doing the work here.

No amount of streaming or shows/movies (we have had movies) could make 3e or 4e this popular. In the case of 4e not even more popular than Pathfinder.

Shiroiken · Aug 25, 2019

When I first started back in 1E, being a DM was hard. Only you had all of the rules, so you had to know them really well (and the 1E mechanics were not the simplest by any stretch). My understanding is that in OD&D and 1E, almost everyone started out as a player, learning the game from an existing group. To become a DM, you generally needed another DM to take you under their wing and help you get started. This created a sense of duty in most DMs, to look for potential DMs from among their players, and tutor them if they're interested. Later editions, mostly starting with the Basic books, they started making it easier to DM without having ever been a player first.

Since I was an apprentice DM, I still feel that sense of duty. I think that more DMs should do this, both in their own games, and online. I try very hard to comment on these forums (and Reddit, whenever I'm there) to help a new DM that has a question or issue. The more help newbie DMs and potential DMs can get, the great our number. I'm blessed in that my regular weekly group of 7 people has: 2 veteran DMs, 2 are casual DMs, and 1 has just started her first major attempt.