D&D 5E Let's Have A Thread of Veteran GM Advice

[Fanaelialae]

I may have even asked this here on ENW before - how do you onboard a new rules set into your brain so that the experience for the players is pretty ok?
(not perfect, but pretty ok)

Believe it or not, I build a player character, as if I were going to play in the campaign (I don't actually run it as a DMPC though).

This forces me to read through the various character options and familiarize myself, which will be important when I have to walk my players through it. It also forces me to read through the various player facing rules, like combat and skills, because I like making effective characters.

Finally, I'll look through the monsters and run a few mock combats in my head to see how they measure up. Sometimes I'll peruse the treasure list to see what kinds of items would work well.

Obviously, I'll still read through the book, but I find creating a character to be the easiest way to familiarize myself with a new system and get a rough feel for it.

 

[Reynard]

One thing I still struggle with is that Session 0. I want to have the S0, but players always seem to want to create their characters on their own and want to just jump in. This feels kind of like a playing online problem, though, because the game gets announced maybe weeks before Session 1. It shows enthusiasm, and I like that, but I wish they would make an effort to create characters together with me there to help guide them.

Note that this is definitely more of an issue with some players over others. I had a really great Fallout2d20 session 0 recently, as an exception.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

4. I will put down my fiction book, and try to read 1 hour of a source book each week.

I do similar, although it's 10 minutes a night - basically adds up to the same thing
I sometimes, if I know I will be running, do a "cheat sheet" of the rules - this helps me

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Believe it or not, I build a player character, as if I were going to play in the campaign (I don't actually run it as a DMPC though).

This forces me to read through the various character options and familiarize myself, which will be important when I have to walk my players through it. It also forces me to read through the various player facing rules, like combat and skills, because I like making effective characters.

Nice! That's what I did for 4e and 5e - built an entire party of each

Finally, I'll look through the monsters and run a few mock combats in my head to see how they measure up. Sometimes I'll peruse the treasure list to see what kinds of items would work well.

Good idea, I hadn't done that. Maybe I need to also make some monsters. Although these days I'm not really running D&D-adjacent stuff, it's more indy/trindy

 

[Reynard]

Finally, I'll look through the monsters and run a few mock combats in my head to see how they measure up. Sometimes I'll peruse the treasure list to see what kinds of items would work well.

Running mostly online these days with a VTT, this is super easy to do and really helps get that part of a given game working in my head. I ran a few test combats with PCs I made in PF2ER versus level appropriate enemies using Fantasy Grounds and I think it really helped me grasp not just the rules but the tactics.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Believe it or not, I build a player character, as if I were going to play in the campaign (I don't actually run it as a DMPC though).

This forces me to read through the various character options and familiarize myself, which will be important when I have to walk my players through it. It also forces me to read through the various player facing rules, like combat and skills, because I like making effective characters.

I not only do this, I write out the process as I'm doing it as a handout. I usually try to pick something not at the simpler end, too.

Obviously, I'll still read through the book, but I find creating a character to be the easiest way to familiarize myself with a new system and get a rough feel for it.

At least its liable to give you a better idea how the pieces fit together.

 

[Thomas Shey]

One thing I still struggle with is that Session 0. I want to have the S0, but players always seem to want to create their characters on their own and want to just jump in. This feels kind of like a playing online problem, though, because the game gets announced maybe weeks before Session 1. It shows enthusiasm, and I like that, but I wish they would make an effort to create characters together with me there to help guide them.

Even when I was playing FTF, I never tried to just have people do it at the last minute; I've played with too many people who were indecisive to one degree or another, and if I did that, chances were they either wouldn't have a character by the end of the session, or would be resentful at being rushed.

 

[MNblockhead]

@MNblockhead
Thanks for the amazing response.

That sounds pretty close to what I want to start doing actually. Over the years I've amassed hundreds of miniatures though, so thinking of using a digital map case to get the best of both worlds:
View attachment 351054

That's exactly what I did. I commissioned a case from Collabrewate. It has a handle and I can take it to a friend's house or gaming store. But mostly I only used it at home. During the game it is a battlemap display. Outside of games, I set it up vertically on top of a dresser in the guest bed room and it acts as a separate TV for watching shows or connecting the PS5 to, when the main TV in the living room is in use.

We used minis on top of it. But I quickly stopped using terrain pieces to speed things up and because it was easier to find tiles with artwork I liked to show terrain on the battlemap.

 

[MNblockhead]

Yikes - how much $ does a set-up like that set you back?

I spent a total of $583 (USD) for both a TV and commissioned case from Collabrewate, including shipping. The basic process is to discuss with them the size of display you want, what wood, stain, and any extra decoration or features. They will advise on the features and form factor needed in the TV. You buy the TV and ship it to them and they build the case for it.

I went pretty basic. I didn't add any decorations. Just a wood case stained dark brown with the plexiglass display protector and a cooling fan. It also has short legs that raise it off of the table a bit to help with cooling and to protect it if there is a spill (the back/bottom of the TV is left exposed. I also had a handle adding to make it easy to carry around. If you are handy, you could likely build one yourself for a lot less money, but I would never be able to create the nice quality dovetail joints. The case has been solid and used heavily for over 5 years, both as a digital battlemap as well as a TV and game console display.

$220 for a Vizio D40F-G 40" CLASS (39.5" Diag.) 1080P LED LCD TV from Costco, shipping to Collabrewate from Costco was free.
TV Case Build was $240
Staining was $50
Shipping the completed encased TV from Collabrewate to my home was $73

Collabrewate seems to have stopped business. But you can find other companies doing the same thing.

The only thing I would change would have been to added a more comfortable handle. The fold-down metal handle on mine looks nice and stays out of the way, but if you have to carry it for more than a few minutes, it gets uncomfortable. Fine to move from room to room or to/from home/gamestore and car. But if you wanted to use it at a large gaming convention it'll be uncomfortable. But since I've only really moved it from room to room, I've never bothered to replace the handle.

 

[MNblockhead]

It varies quite a bit: Digital Map Case - Etsy

I'm quite the nerd, so have most of the electronics and cables for it, would just need the case. But that's still quite the investment for a game I only play once a week now.

You don't need a nice case. Get an inexpensive TV of a size that will work on your table. Lay it horizontal, on four blocks that will keep it raised about an inch of the table. Put a sheet of plexiglass on top of it. There was a DM at my local FLGS that ran games this way using Fantasy Grounds. I just wanted the case because it looks nice, protects the TV better and is easier to cary when moving it from one location to another, and it very quick to set up (just place it on the table and plug it in). But if you are mainly running from home, You don't need anything fancy.