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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rhenny" data-source="post: 6945213" data-attributes="member: 18333">Lots of good advice.  I'm going to repeat some of what others have said as I add.1) Start small and build up - in a way, I agree with [MENTION=6801558]robus[/MENTION] about Lost Mines of Phandelver.  It might be good to read it and get ideas, but only run it if you feel comfortable with it.  A lot of the times, I find it easier to plan my own smaller adventures, especially as a start.  An initial encounter to get the PCs together and on a quest, with some exploration that includes 2-4 areas with some interactions and combats, is probably enough for 2-3 hours.  Once that's done, see where everything stands, and build around it.2) Watch how others play/run games.  There are a ton of live streamed games out there.  Don't get intimidated by the awesome DMs; just see how they run things.   Here's a series that I found pretty helpful and simple to follow (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT3FRzEJDp8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT3FRzEJDp8</a>) but there are others too.3) Get comfortable running monsters/NPCs and plan how they'll act before the game session.  This is especially important for when you get into a situation where a "newbie" group gets into trouble with more powerful monsters/npcs.  Often, even if monsters seem to have the upper hand, there are ways to change the situation to give the party a new chance.  Sometimes, a new threat can surface and fight against the foes giving the PCs a chance to escape.  Sometimes, one of the leaders of the monster/npc group could offer a deal to the PCs.  Sometimes, a freak occurrence can frighten the monsters/npcs away.  4) When building encounters, don't make everyone a combat encounter.  Give pcs a chance to use other skills/ideas to interact and explore.  But, if you do make a combat encounter, always err on the "too easy" side rather than the "too hard" side.  Give players a chance to warm up.  If you do have a hard encounter, try to telegraph it to the players so that they know it might be dangerous.</blockquote>

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