The very first time I DM'ed...

[Gnome Quixote]

I'm a noob DM--just ran my first live session this week, and am about two weeks into running a pbp game, running the same adventure for both groups. While running the first combat encounter for the live group, I mixed up the stat blocks for two sets of creatures, winding up with a set of extremely hard-to-kill dire rats and a MBEG (medium bad evil guy) who went down in two hits. Meanwhile, in the pbp game, one player's beachbum druid went and cast Entangle in the first round, turning what was supposed to be a straightforward combat into a marathon of reflex and strength checks as all the combatants wound up tangled up in weeds.

(If anyone's curious, I'm running one of the sample dungeons from Dungeon Master For Dummies to start, and tying it into the plot of Urban Decay, from Dragon #138.)

So this one goes out to all the old pros out there: what was your first time DM'ing like? Did you mess something up, or did it go smooth as silk? Did it make you ask yourself why the heck you volunteered for this, or why on Earth you hadn't done it sooner? What did you take from that first session to shape you into the DM you are today?

 

[Mycanid]

Yeesh ... well, I can't say I'm an "old pro" per se. (Where in blazes is PirateCat when you need him?! From all accounts he should be the one answering this thing.) "Old" maybe (been playing since 1979) in some people's estimation.

My first adventure I DM'd was when I was 11. It was the adventure later titled "In Search of the Unknown". Everything went fine as far as I can remember. The other people playing were also my age and we really didn't know all that much - a little like "ignorance is bliss" sorta. Anyhoo we had a lot of fun.

Most of my early DM'ing experience did not really shape me as a DM as far as I can tell. What did was playing the game under more experienced DM's and watching how they did things. I always kinda liked to DM because I enjoy telling a story and having others loving the story at the same time. (See the sig and all that....) I got this from Tolkien's writings. I wanted to DM b/c I wanted to immerse myself and others at the same time in a deep fantasy world that all would enjoy. And ... maybe even learn a thing or two.

 

[heimdall]

Most of my early DM'ing experience did not really shape me as a DM as far as I can tell. What did was playing the game under more experienced DM's and watching how they did things. I always kinda liked to DM because I enjoy telling a story and having others loving the story at the same time. (See the sig and all that....) I got this from Tolkien's writings. I wanted to DM b/c I wanted to immerse myself and others at the same time in a deep fantasy world that all would enjoy. And ... maybe even learn a thing or two.

The same is true for me. I started DMing at a young age with players at an equally young age, so I don't remember how it went. But I do remember we all enjoyed it, and that's what counts. I enjoy DMing because I enjoy starting the story and keeping it going. That's one thing I liked from the original White Wolf products, they named the GM a Storyteller.

To the original poster, the #1 thing is for everyone to have fun, including you. Even with the challenges, did you enjoy DMing?

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

The first time I DM'd I was 13, and it was also the first time I'd played D&D. All things considered it went well, but it really helps when no one else knows the rules either

The most important lesson I learned that first time was to keep the flow going -- spending too much time looking things up just kills the game. Don't sweat the small stuff, but don't be afraid to ret-con something while you're learning if your mistake is going to wipe the party or kill the game.

Of course, once everyone is more experienced, no mercy!

 

[Mitchbones]

I DM'd for the first time last month (we are in the same boat). It went pretty well, besides people goofing off alot. One month later, it is still going at the slow as a turtle pace. I am planning on starting a fresh campain (we have 5 new members o_o), and playing the adventure in the DM for dummies book.


My players love minatures, I use them strictly for combat...but they on the other hand like to place them out even with simple roleplaying encounters. When I comment about it, they make me sound like the 'mean bad guy'

 

[Odhanan]

and playing the adventure in the DM for dummies book.

It's a great book.

 

[Odhanan]

what was your first time DM'ing like?
It was great! I was running the Dark Eye RPG for a couple of friends from school, if I remember well. At the time, the French-speaking Initiation to Adventure boxed set presented the Dark Eye game in a very flavorful manner. It included a good adventure, which I think was the one I ran for my first time. I remember mostly a painting which was pictured with the adventure. The PCs had to find a secret door within the painting. It was a battle scene. It was very vivid and I loved the style of drawings from the main Dark Eye artist. Memories!

(My first time actually DMing as in "DMing D&D" was with B1 and resulted in a TPK, but the players loved the game!).

Did you mess something up, or did it go smooth as silk?
I don't know if it was as smooth as silk, but I can tell you we had a lot of fun. I loved role-playing goblins and kobolds and make up voices for them. Great DMing comes from having fun with the game. So long as you have fun with the game, your enthusiasm will be communicated to your players, whether you mess up or not. And to be frank, you have to mess up some time. That's the only way to learn!

Did it make you ask yourself why the heck you volunteered for this, or why on Earth you hadn't done it sooner?
I didn't ask myself any question like that. I knew RPGs were *my* thing. The thing I would master and nurture for the rest of my life. For this session, I just wanted to have a good time and wanted my friends to love the game so that we could play again the next week-end, and we did.

What did you take from that first session to shape you into the DM you are today?
That it's a lot about how events in-game actually happen. If nothing happens, the players are bored. If they keep losing to the bad guys, or have abilities that consistantly don't work, they are annoyed and have no fun. It's not about role-playing immersion or mastery of the rules. It's about having a good time and wanting to play again next time.

 

[pawsplay]

I was about nine. I got rooked into playing the bastard son of Basic D&D and AD&D, and coerced into including my own character, a cleric, to accompany the older neighbor kid's. He was a half-orc fighter-thief. I noticed that my saving throws were better than his, so I used a magic-user and some skeletons as the bad guys. I lived, and turned undead, he got held and killed.

My second DMing experience, I was a co-DM with the same guy versus the older guy down the street (who was about 19, I think). He had dared us to beat his "unbeatable" immortal 20th level wizard. First I killed his ferret familiar in the first room, then I introduced him to the mirror of opposition. He never got to see what my co-DM had in store for him in the next room, but I'm sure it wasn't good...

 

[Nyaricus]

I DMed for the first time a year and a half ago, after being a player for 5ish years. I started DMing when my old group of players/friends fell apart (mainly their hard drug issues) and I started up a campaign in my own setting on my 17th birthday. It was a ton of fun, adn we had a great time.

The important thing is pacing (keep it going fast!), and ensuring that everyone is having fun

 

[Piratecat]

The first time I DMed, my players pretty much walked out on me.