New DM + Homebrew Campaign = Any Advice?

[Kzach]

I should clarify that my intention with the two suggestions I made was an either or, not both together.

In other words, if you're not fully prepared with a huge amount of material already written out and available to the players, then run it as a points of light and fill in details for the players as their PC's discover them.

 

[KlassyReborn]

well the reason for being a DM is to tell a story. So make a story, one that can really involve the characters, try and connect with them emotionally to make them WANT to come back every time.

Also, ever since DnD came out, the general consensus has been that DM = God. The great thing about DnD is that DMs can follow the rules if they want. "House Rules" are what make every DnD session different from the other. How a DM reacts to certain rules, is overall how a player plays in an adventure. But don't make rules because you want to be power hungry, make rules that make sense in your mind.

So overall, short story shorter: Make a story, and control your game.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

DM is ARBITER. Yes he can assert "Godhood" within the game, and there are times when that is the role to play, but don't forget that the world which results from the interaction of the players and the DM is a joint creation. Sure it will be the DM who paints the scenes, but the players are really ultimately in charge of directing where the action goes. Usually you can steer them, but it is best to do so with a light hand. They should always have the impression that whatever choice they make will lead them down a different path. Of course it may be in truth at times that it won't actually matter which way they go.

 

[Rel]

There are many ways to be a GM as there are GMs and what works for one doesn't always work for another. But I think that some things have a better chance for success than others given a particular group.

Because of that the single most important piece of advice I can give you is "Know Thy Players". Being the most proficient storyteller in the world is of no use at all if your players all just want to have fun killing stuff. And knowing how to put together a tactially brilliant and engaging encounter matters not if the players are only interested in the story. Figure out what they like and cater to that.

Of course it's fairly unlikely that they are all going to be Buttkickers or Storytellers. They will probably be a mix of player types. And that is great because it affords you plenty of variety in how you present the game. But it's still important to know them so that you can make sure to give each player their "emotional kick" at least once per session.

Finally I'll offer one little GM trick that I've come to employ in almost all my campaigns. I almost never start the game knowing where it is going to end. I have no grand designs to begin with. However I try to make sure that, in the very early going, the PC's run afoul of some "Sizable Group of Bad Guys". This is often the driving aspect of the first adventure. But there is another reason I do this.

In any campaign you will sooner or later run into a lull or impasse. The game will bog down for some reason or you'll be presented with the players going in some direction you never considered. When those moments happen then you simply have a batch of minions from this Sizable Group of Bad Guys jump out of the bushes or kick in the door. The ensuing combat will liven up the session and also give you time to think about where things are headed next.

Sometimes the Sizable Group of Bad Guys will become the focus of the campaign. Sometimes the PC's make a concerted effort to kill every last one of them and it works. Sometimes the PC's ignore them and I just have them eventually lose interest. Regardless by that time the PC's have made plenty of other enemies and I don't require my SGoBG as a fallback anymore. But in the early parts of a campaign it can be a lifesaver.