D&D General The DM Shortage

[Mort]

Just because people do it doesn't mean WotC couldn't make onboarding easier.

Yes of course. WoTC can do a MUCH better job of helping new DMs. That is a current stated goal of 1D&D.

 

[Mort]

The people I know were older and it helped there were people around for them to ask questions of. I wasn't playing in the two new players' games but I fielded questions from both of them.

Absolutely. I'm sure it was easier for my son because I was there to help. And I also agree with your later post that WoTC hasn't, so far, been good to new DMs at all.

 

[Vaalingrade]

There's a philosophical issue that's going to be on trial with 5.5, namely whether leaving a ton of game design to the DM is empowerment or exporting the workload.

 

[Maxperson]

I know of three people who GMed for the first time in D&D 5e. Two of them were entirely new to the game when they started playing at a table I was running. The current edition isn't really that much harder to learn than previous ones.

It's far easier to learn than previous editions. The DMG could be better, but it's full of advice on what to think about when constructing a setting, how to start adventures and campaigns, types of players and what they look for, and more. The DMG's main faults are that in some areas it doesn't go far enough, and it's organized very poorly.

 

[pointofyou]

There's a philosophical issue that's going to be on trial with 5.5, namely whether leaving a ton of game design to the DM is empowerment or exporting the workload.

Neither. Both. It depends.

I think all those answers are true.

 

[Zardnaar]

It's far easier to learn than previous editions. The DMG could be better, but it's full of advice on what to think about when constructing a setting, how to start adventures and campaigns, types of players and what they look for, and more. The DMG's main faults are that in some areas it doesn't go far enough, and it's organized very poorly.

Only compared to 3E and 4E.

B/X and clones still easier AD&D debateable but it's easier to run than 5E.

 

[Maxperson]

Only compared to 3E and 4E.

B/X and clones still easier AD&D debateable but it's easier to run than 5E.

Basic was probably easier. I don't think AD&D was. 1e and 2e were just as poorly organized, but a hell of a lot more complicated, and gave the DM much less help with designing campaigns, settings, etc. I'd put the order of ease at Basic, 5e, 2e, 1e, and then 3e(the most fun, but also by far the most complicated). I don't know enough about 4e to rank it.

 

[Zardnaar]

Basic was probably easier. I don't think AD&D was. 1e and 2e were just as poorly organized, but a hell of a lot more complicated, and gave the DM much less help with designing campaigns, settings, etc. I'd put the order of ease at Basic, 5e, 2e, 1e, and then 3e(the most fun, but also by far the most complicated). I don't know enough about 4e to rank it.

4Es probably easier to pick up than 3E by a newb kinda harder to run as you have to relearn everything

AD&D book layout is atrocious but it's easier to play/run than 5E basically runs easier. Might vary based on rules used (d6/d10 go vs everything)

 

[jmartkdr2]

Basic was probably easier. I don't think AD&D was. 1e and 2e were just as poorly organized, but a hell of a lot more complicated, and gave the DM much less help with designing campaigns, settings, etc. I'd put the order of ease at Basic, 5e, 2e, 1e, and then 3e(the most fun, but also by far the most complicated). I don't know enough about 4e to rank it.

4e is really easy to dm (compared to other editions) if you want tot run the type of game 4e is built for. Which is generally true of 4e overall: it does what it does really well, but people expect DnD to be a multi-tool.

4e's DMG is generally seen as one of the best at teaching you to dm. The way it teaches you to runn Skill Challenges is less praised, even by people who think the Skill Challenge system is the bee's knees.

 

[Vaalingrade]

4e's DMG is generally seen as one of the best at teaching you to dm. The way it teaches you to runn Skill Challenges is less praised, even by people who think the Skill Challenge system is the bee's knees.

But even then, they broke D&D tradition for things that aren't Stealth and Polymorph and kept trying to fix it instead of trying once and washing their hands until the next edition!

And codified 3.5's tradition of trying forever to fix the ranger! One that will surely continue to decades to come.