D&D 5E Oh, Man, Do I Need Some DM Tips. . .

[Rhenny]

Great advice so far. I'll just add a little.

It is really awesome to watch other DMs (Chris Perkins, Matt Merced, etc.) but it is just as important to forget them and be yourself. It sounds corny, but I've always found that when I try to be like someone else, I don't have the same confidence or enthusiasm that I have when I'm just being myself. The same goes for running pre-written adventures. Sometimes following a script zaps the energy from me, so I've learned to take what's written and make it my own. Don't fear cutting stuff, changing stuff or adding stuff. All this takes time and practice to develop so like others have said, don't be too hard on yourself.

Another observation that may help you feel at ease is understanding the different way players and DMs think about the same game. In my experience as both a DM and a player, I've found that DMs often feel as if a session was less challenging and exciting than the players. The DM knows so much more about each encounter and possible next steps. Players don't know as much about the adventure so they feel more of a sense of mystery/unknown. If you keep this in mind, you can often use the fear of the unknown to raise tension and make the game more exciting, but at the very least, knowing this should help you be less hard on yourself.

 

[Shiroiken]

I'm going to disagree with this. I think both 4e and 5e (like most editions) require a dynamic environment in order to promote dynamic fights. In other words the environment that the battle takes place in has a much larger effect on whether the combat is static or dynamic than any inherent quality of the edition itself.

Some of the mechanics are going to affect how dynamic a combat can be, even if it's less than the value of terrain. 3E was actually the worst for it, because it generally assumed miniatures and there were advantages to getting into a particular position and staying there (flanking and attacks of opportunity). 4E also generally assumed miniatures, but the mechanics generated a more dynamic combat (due to various forced movement and several movement powers). AD&D could be better for dynamic combat, depending on if you used miniatures or Theater of the Mind, because Theater of the Mind allowed for the most dynamic combats of all. 5E fits somewhere in the middle of all that, since positioning still matters even in TotM, but lacks 4E's constant movement that generated very dynamic combats.

Good use of terrain can make even a 3E combat fairly dynamic, but you should always consider the cost/benefit ratio. If it takes you a long time to make dynamic fights with terrain (which was often true in 3E), you should probably limit it to important combats. Adding one or two terrain features should take almost no time at all, but add some flavor to the combat, even if it doesn't make it very dynamic. Otherwise the combat sucks, as a DM of mine found out when every combat he ran was on a featureless grid (because he didn't think terrain should matter). Something else that can affect this is running a per-published adventure, as the OP is doing with RotRL, where combat locations are often already made (and designed for the style of the original edition).

 

[robus]

Lots of great advice here. Here's my 2c.

BBEGs aren't just bags of hit points. They also have motivation. Why are they in the fight? And why are they continuing to fight. Not every creature wants to fight to the death.

As for the cliffhanger and the yawning you might find this interesting reading. I know my sessions have measurably improved since I adopted these practices:
http://theangrygm.com/how-to-structure-a-session/

For the combat this is also excellent advice for tightening it up:
http://theangrygm.com/manage-combat-like-a-dolphin/

Though as others have asked it would be good to know what RP you're looking for.

 

[Edwin Suijkerbuijk]

1.) I REALLY want to bring a much stronger RP element to the game while they. . . don't. Ends up with my describing too much and in too much depth. However, a meta game that just involves number crunching is extremely boring to me and I want to have some fun, too.

2.) I thought I was prepared but continually forgot to track advantage, fear, use of spells, etc. This led to pretty decent pauses in the flow of combat occasionally.

I guess you are talking about RP during combat, but discribing every attack can get repetative.
But you might ask how they use a condition grants advanatge when they attack with advantage.

 

[Satyrn]

5.) I didn't end on a cliff-hanger so the session ended somewhat antimactically, as well.

So much good advice in this thread.

I just want to add that when you have a time limit to your session, cliffhangers aren't easy to come by. And really don't matter. At least I've never seen it matter, and we end our sessions roughly around quarter after nine (because we have to work the next day!), give or take 15 minutes. We end a little late to finish off whatever encounter we're in at the moment, or stop a little early if the DM thinks the next bit of gameplay will take too long.

The timing for our Real World lives takes precedence over timing a cliffhanger, and that's fine. I don't feel I'm missing out on any thing. That's me as a player.

And I'm guessing from your gaming schedule that you and your group will have the same priorities (Sleep before climax!) or similar, so don't sweat this point at all.

 

[pontinyc]

Man, this is a hell of a supportive and insightful community. Tremendous thanks for all of the responses thus far! I'll be responding to them further but am simply digesting the excellent input right now. Again, many thanks.

 

[jgsugden]

People overthink this type of thing.

Have fun and your players will have fun. A few more specific suggestions:

1.) Be confident in your NPCs. A confident delivery of a cheesy line works where a timid delivery of a masterful line won't.
2.) Don't sweat the small stuff. If the math gets in the way, if you forget advantage, if you allowed a spell to target too many enemies - don't worry about it. Just push ahead and keep the stoy moving. Most games won't fall apart if the DM fudges some numbers to avoid delays in the game for accounting breaks or got a rule a little wrong.
3.) Remember that the PCs are the star of the game. The campaign is the story of their characters. All enemies, NPCs, and featurwes of the setting are there to give them a place to experience their story.Look at the backgrounds, traits, flaws, bonds, etc... of the PCs to seed the game with things that will capitalize on their building blocks. If you play an out of the box adventure, you are best served to read ahead and alter it to incorporate things directly related to the PCs.
4.)Make sure the PCs have some over the top victories over enemies that underestimate them. DMs often think every battle needs to be a challenge for survival. This isn't true. Each battle needs to have a purpose, but sometimes that purpose is just to make the PCs feel powerful. Other times the success or failure of the battle might not be based upon the survivial of the PCs, but might be based upon stopping n enemy from doing something - get the raiders before they kill the people on the caravan, stop the kobold from tripping the alarm, hold the line for 10 rounds to give the refugees time to escape, etc... The PCs do not have to be in jeopardy for their lives in any of these battles to have a fun battle - and if they're not struggling to survive, they feel like heroes rather than zeroes.
5.) Have a good ending moment ready to go. Either end on a victory or a cliffhanger. I usually have a few ready to go cliffhangers I can throw into the game whereever the PCs are. For example, if they have a rival group of adventurers in their community, be prepared to have them burst in on the PCs, whereever they are, at the end of the session. Or perhaps the final strike by the paladin's sword activates the curse, or they realize that the hairy gnoll that scratched them that they were fighting might have lycanthropy, or if the rogue failed to find the trap in th chest before opening it - you can end it with, "And just as the chest begins to open there is a sudden crack that permeates the silence, followed by a hiss that ... will be continued."

 

[The Human Target]

A lot of those are D&D problems, not you problems.

 

[Flamestrike]

1.) I REALLY want to bring a much stronger RP element to the game while they. . . don't. Ends up with my describing too much and in too much depth. However, a meta game that just involves number crunching is extremely boring to me and I want to have some fun, too.

Hate to say it but the players win this one. Its pointless you running a game that they dont want to play in.

I would suggest looking into why they prefer the combat side. It's usually down to rewards (xp and loot). If you provide social challenges that also provide xp, loot or other rewards (the NPC offers to teach you a special ability) then you should see their intrest in social encounters increase.

I bet you in a computer RPG these players are walking around talking to every NPC they encounter to get quests, loot and so forth. Let them see that they get rewarded by roleplaying and social encounters, and they might just come to the party more.

Of course, they may not. Some players just arent into that kind of stuff.

2.) I thought I was prepared but continually forgot to track advantage, fear, use of spells, etc. This led to pretty decent pauses in the flow of combat occasionally.

Players should be tracking their own stuff, with your only job to double check (via spot checking). Note when an ability gets used (action surge, spell slots, hit points, spells) and keep an eye on it by spot checking or pulling a player up on it from time to time (No Frank, you cant action surge, you havent short rested yet). Make the players self police.

3.) I allowed the combat to devolve into a bunch of people whacking each other while stationary until someone ran out of hit points.

Thats inevitable. The most common tactical error that leads to this is fear of attacks of opportunity. Dont be scared of them and move your monsters to get to the squishies (generally an attack of opportunity isnt an issue). Succesfully doing this will encourage the players to do the same, and places value on feats like Warcaster, and Sentinel.

I like doing this with Wizards. Move (proviking an AoO)... then move back and clobber them (the Wizard is now out of reactions for shield).

4.) Because of an insane smite crit from the paladin, the BBEG never got off an actual attack. While she had a lot of hit points, she was constantly playing catch up. This led for a really anticlimactic encounter.

Thats going to happen from time to time.

If there is one bit of DMing advice for 5E that I would offer related to this point its this:

5E balances around the presumption of a longer adventuring day (specifically 6ish medium-hard encounters and 2ish short rests bracketed by long rests). Its vital that you enforce this longer adventuring day on your party as a default (dont do it every adventuring day, but do it often enough that the players come to expect it as the default and self police around this expectation). Throw the occasional longer adventuring day at them, and dont be scared to dangle the occasional shorter one at them. Vary short rests as well (some days they get more, some days less).

Timed quests (do X) (by Y) or else (bad thing Z) happens are your friend here. Plus, they're a heck of a lot of fun. If the PCs know they have till midnight to stop the BBEG from completing his ritual, you can sit back and let them figure it out. If they fail then there are immediate consequences to that failure (showing them that their actions matter).

Within that paradigm let them figure out how to achieve the quest. From there you can have some of your encounters be social encounters (brings us back to point 1) that they can talk past saving resources for the BBEG at the end of the Adventuring day.

Remember, DnD is a resource management game (hit points, hit dice, spell slots, short rest and long rest keyed abilities, charges, xp, gp, sorcery points, ki points, superioirity dice, rages per day etc). One of your central roles as DM is managing and policing this.

5.) I didn't end on a cliff-hanger so the session ended somewhat antimactically, as well.

That happens mate. If every session ends on a cliffhanger they get boring (just like if every TV show ended with a 'to be continued'). Cliffhangers are great... when used sparingly.

 

[transtemporal]

Don't beat yourself up OP. The story doesn't always need to be tied up nicely with a bow. It doesn't always have to end with an epic climatic BBEG fight or a cliff hanger. Sometimes the PCs ace it and you just have to let them have their victory - for them that probably wasn't anti-climatic!