D&D 5E I think I'm in trouble

[jgsugden]

Don't let the rules get in the way. Tell a good story, and let the players help develop the story.

All the die rolling, adventure text, rules and miniatures are meant to help tell the story, not get in the way of it. When in doubt, spend a few seconds looking for a rule. If you don't find it, menatlity note to look it up later, make a fun ruling and move on.

Make sure the players shape the story. Their job is to play hero. Your job is to set them up to be heroes. With younger players, that means you can go with pretty basic "save the ...." type stories that make them feel good about what they can do.

 

[hbarsquared]

Good luck tonight!

Remember, in the end, the numbers don't matter. The dice are there to make your life easier - to make the decisions of success or failure FOR you! If the story is fun, of the playets are having fun, if you're having fun... SUCCESS! That's all ya need.

 

[jrowland]

You've taken the first step already. Bewilderment and an intense feeling of unpreparedness is the natural state of DMs.

At my age, a glass *cough* bottle *cough* of whiskey helps

 

[Hriston]

I wonder how the game is going.

 

[GainVanquish]

Love to hear how your session went

 

[xOgrex]

First, let me thank everyone again for all the advice and support - it really boosted my confidence and helped reduce the feeling of impending failure. As far as how things went, I think one of the players running notes/summary sums it up best:

"Two axes sailed into the trees.... After it takes an arrow to the knee, Zenrana (a.k.a. Timber Packhobbit) bound and tortured a goblin. Crowbars and candles were involved inspiring an instant best-selling novel "50 Shades of Green". I am apparently too drunk to hit anything but am still allowed to drive. Aurora kills the goblin before it says anything helpful but Zenrana did manage to use some of its hide to make a hat - she was hot and wanted some shade. Somehow we made it into town and the first thing I do is find the bar where a strange man approaches me. [at this point he stopped taking notes for a while, but then picks back up] Zenrana lies bloody on the steps of some taphouse with 4 bandits screaming obscenities. I can't remember how we got here but I magically heal our stumpy little friend and turn my attention back to the Bullies at the bar. Note to self - Aurora hates porches. Following a rather crappy trail, we find a place that may be the bandit stronghold. Deep beneath the manor, we find a store room but as we search the room Aurora knocks over a chair alerting a guard dog and bringing more bandits down on us. After several "warning" swings, Aurora finally severs the arm of a bandit causing the floor to become slick with blood. Abcde leaps into a barrel to tend her wounds as Zenrana takes a severe wound. In the space of moments the last bandit falls and the room smells of fish, blood, and shame as we notice our hard won treasure."

While I have a long way to go as a DM, overall the five of us had a blast! Two of the players were going to the local comic shop to buy miniatures for characters they are going to spend the day rolling. I'm running to my local gaming store to look around and potentially get some additional information. While I wasn't planning on it, we've decided to meet and play again tomorrow, so I think I'll be lurking as I sift through the info contained on the forums.

A picture of Zenrana's Goblin Hide hat:

 

[KahlessNestor]

Very nice! Glad you all had a lot of fun!

 

[iserith]

Excellent! Thank you for the session report.

D&D players do seem to like torturing monsters they capture, so I'd like to offer this article (not my blog) as additional support in case you're like me and would prefer not to make a game of torture.

 

[hbarsquared]

And that is how D&D is played.

 

[jrowland]

*SNIP*

Epic! Great Job! Welcome, fellow DM, to D&D!