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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 6812866" data-attributes="member: 6801286">My advice, DON'T RAILROAD! Contrary to a previous poster, I advice the exact opposite. I don't think any tip that we would give to an experienced DM should be all that different to what we'd tell a new DM. I don't think railroading is a crime, but I think it is bad to start DM'ing from that principle. Why not learn your DM'ing correctly right from the get go?Personally I believe D&D is all about choice, and so railroading is somewhere on the opposite spectrum of that. That is why i think railroading in general is simply inferior to none linear storytelling in a D&D adventure. That said, none linear story telling DOES usually require plenty of preparation. To a new DM this can be a daunting task, so maybe you want to consider first running an Adventure Module, to get the hang of things?But lets get down to the question at hand, how do you prepare a campaign when you run one of your own?Prepare!To me it is all in the preparation. I would advice a new DM to prepare enough material so that they have a framework in place that allows them to keep the story rolling for the next couple of sessions. This means that you probably want to create a world map, and prepare a list of npc's and plot points that you want to work into the story at some point. Having a list of characters at the ready is a great tool, plus it helps you remember what a character looked like, and it helps you think about the finer details. I tend to create a basic outline document that describes all of the general areas of the world, along with short blocks of text for all the key npc's in the story. Have a list of tavern names, and name for cities and villages.Monster listsIt also helps to have a list of monsters at the ready, that you can use at any moment when you see fit. You can keep sticky notes in your Monster Manual, or just print out a copy of their stat blocks for easy reference. You don't want to be searching for monsters during the session. Have your foes ready for use, and make sure you've read their special abilities before using them!The world mapAs previously mentioned, you'll want a map. This can be a map of the entire world, but more likely you'll only need a map of the current region that the story takes place in. This means you'll have to think ahead a bit, and consider where the story may lead next. Perhaps you've at one time seen a fantasy book, which often open up with this massive map full of countless lands and cities that NEVER show up in the book? Don't be that guy! Just limit the map to what the story needs, and you can fill in the rest later. What is the point of drawing the north and south pole of the world, when the players will never go there?If you instead prefer to use an existing setting, such as the Forgotten Realms, you can of course download tons of beautiful maps of those, and save yourself a lot of trouble.Work out a list of deitiesIf you are creating a setting of your own, you might want to consider coming up with some gods of your own. You can take the roman pantheon as an example, and make up gods for all kinds of silly things. Try and think about how those gods are portrayed by their followers, and how they are worshiped. Of course you could also take the lazy way out, and just use the gods of an existing setting. But that is entirely up to you.Know the game rulesYou don't need to read all the books from cover to back, to run the game. But as a DM you are expected to be both a storyteller and a referee. So players will expect that they can turn to you, in case the rules are unclear. You need to at least know how to run combat, how initiative works, how armor and attacks work, how magic and saves work, and how experience and levels work. You should also be familiar with character creation, because you'll need that knowledge not only to assist your players in making their characters, but also when designing npc's of your own.</blockquote>

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