Questions tagged [new-gm]
For questions specifically about problems inherent to becoming or tutoring a game master (GM). This tag is not for just saying "I am a new GM": see the full tag wiki for important usage notes.
211
questions
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5
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How do I run stealth and perception? Passive perception vs active perception
I'm a new dm and I want to introduce some ambush style encounters in my game. I told my players recently that I will not ask them if they want to be steathly when moving around a dungeon because I ...
- 29
7
votes
4
answers
980
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How can we streamline a game with seven players in DnD 5e?
The question is: how do I balance gameplay when it comes to initiative?
The game is in person, every other week or so. My party is comprised of 7 players, two of whom are noobs. I, myself, and also ...
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22
votes
7
answers
4k
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What's your best practice as a DM to "protect" your awesome campaign's mystery "against" the Divination spell?
Some context: I'm a newbie DM running the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign for my party. What's so special about this campaign is that it's full of intrigue / politics / betrayal and mystery. Also it'...
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2
votes
0
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105
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How do I put my own twist on prewritten adventures [closed]
I am a new DM, and I am quite good at running encounters, making interesting environments to explore and creating compelling NPCs. I struggle with the storytelling aspects of the game. I know the ...
6
votes
3
answers
2k
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What would be a good ruling for "grabbing -> carrying -> dropping" a PC in a battle? (in terms of action economy and tactical drawbacks of such move) [closed]
Some context: We're running Dragon Heist and having an encounter where a slow and clumsy mage must "evacuate" himself to the opposite edge of the map with the artifact.
The DM has purposely ...
- 1,719
11
votes
5
answers
948
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How can we help our DM to keep things moving?
Our DM started to master for us about two years ago, using published materials. We played Lost Mine of Phandelver, then Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and now Dungeon of the Mad Mage. All of this is good.
...
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23
votes
4
answers
4k
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Can a player replace their pre-generated character with a new character they create, partway through an adventure?
I'm a new DM playing Lost Mine of Phandelver with two other adults and our kids, two 11-year-olds. We started with the pre-generated characters; I'm playing the Dwarf cleric as an NPC.
One of the kids ...
- 381
14
votes
4
answers
4k
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How do you handle role-playing NPCs as a DM? [closed]
I DM a 5e D&D campaign. I've been playing D&D for under a year. In this new campaign I'm planning to have a few NPC allies. While I'm able to roleplay less important NPCs, these NPCs feel more ...
- 149
2
votes
0
answers
110
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Homebrewing tips for multi-table campaigns? [closed]
To be clear, I am not looking for homebrew. I am only looking for tips for running games, with the current requirements I have set.
Anyway, I am going to be running a campaign for some new players. ...
- 3,301
6
votes
0
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174
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Should I buy one of the starter sets, or the core books? [duplicate]
I am a new d&d player, who has some research into d&d. I have decided to try it out, but I don't know which one to buy. (I'm deciding to become a dm for the sake of the new players) Should I ...
26
votes
7
answers
4k
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What level, if any, of feedback should players give a new GM?
I've recently started playing D&D with a few friends, most of whom are new-ish to the game. Our GM is running their first world, and while their world building is very impressive, when it comes to ...
- 363
13
votes
5
answers
5k
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New DM on House Rules, concerning Nat20 & Rule of Cool
As a DM making a house rule, am I allowed to grant "Rule of Cool" to Natural 20 rolls in exchange of giving "Rule of Uncool" effects for Natural One rolls? (but all within the ...
- 141
1
vote
6
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How do I handle players that don't care for the rules I put in place as the DM and question everything I do?
I am DMing a game of dnd 5e or close to it. It's a homebrew campaign. We are mostly new to D&D with the exception of 2 players that play with other groups.
I have 2 players that seem to question ...
8
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How to design a level 1 encounter with 7 level 1 characters
Me and my friends decided to play some D&D 5th edition. The issue is, though I am a long term DM I am only well-versed in the rules for 3.5e and Pathfinder 1st, same as Open Legend but it uses a ...
- 83
54
votes
5
answers
6k
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How do I prevent myself from freezing up during a game I'm DMing?
I'm a new DM/player with only a few weeks of experience in playing the game at university. My flatmates and I decided that we should all have a D&D game after I explained the concept to them.
They ...
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22
votes
3
answers
2k
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How to handle wrong application of Spells?
I am a DM for 2 sessions now. This includes a training-montage'esque session 0, so 3 in total. My group is completely new to D&D.
Our Paladin has the detect evil and good spell (a divination ...
- 323
1
vote
0
answers
184
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The road not taken, or should a GM allow replays? [closed]
Some people say adventures are supposed to be unique experiences that cannot be recreated. What if the player wants to replay the same thing from the beginning, but try a different fork in the road? ...
- 1,713
0
votes
2
answers
323
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I want to try being a DM [closed]
So sadly, after almost two years, our DM has kinda had a burnout, though that was obvious to us months earlier as our once a week game became one every few weeks to months. Long story short, he's ...
2
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0
answers
113
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I am a new DM, I need help with monsters and the characters themselves [closed]
I need help dming please help me. I perfer pen and paper gaming. So please help me.
4
votes
1
answer
621
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What are some essentials to get a first time DM for their campaign? [closed]
My boyfriend has been playing D&D for a few years now but is going to be a first-time DM in his group's next campaign which will be starting late-December. I want to get him some Christmas gifts ...
- 41
16
votes
5
answers
5k
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Starting with D&D: Starter Set vs Dungeon Master's Guide
I have been GMing Call of Cthulhu 7th Ed. for some time and now want to try something different. I would like to go with D&D 5.0 since it will be available in my native tongue in a few weeks - the ...
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3
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As a new DM, should my focus when creating a campaign be on developing locations or NPCs?
A group of friends and I have decided to play D&D. Since I was the one gathering everyone and the one with the most previous knowledge, I became the DM for the group. I had never actually played ...
- 211
1
vote
0
answers
51
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Advice for creating character based off of Valiant Comics' Shadowman [closed]
I'm a relatively new DM and one of my new players is wanting to create a character based off of the Shadowman character from Valiant comics and came to me for help. More specifically, he wants it to ...
14
votes
2
answers
813
views
How can an inexperienced GM keep a game fun for experienced players?
Along the same lines as this question from a players perspective, I am interested in possibly running a game for some friends and co-workers, where they have much more experience in gaming than I do ...
- 10.2k
78
votes
7
answers
9k
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As a GM, is it bad form to ask for a moment to think when improvising?
As an amateur GM, I, like many other new GMs, often find myself having to improvise in the wake of unexpected player action.
In the past, my approach to this has been to rush to think of something on ...
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10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How much XP should you award if the encounter was not solved via battle? [duplicate]
I have created an encounter with monsters, with their relevant CR and XP. Normally, when the party kills everyone, they are rewarded the XP. If the party chooses to, and succeeds in, resolving the ...
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5
votes
1
answer
3k
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Which books do I need in order to run a Starfinder game?
I recently got me the core rule book of Starfinder and I really love the setting and the rules.
I want to run a Starfinder game but I don't exactly know which books I need or where to start exactly. ...
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0
votes
2
answers
184
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Gameplay-to-cutscene ratio: how interactive should I make the introduction to the campaign? [closed]
I'm planning a campaign with a specific backdrop-the characters are employees of a certain organization and this is their first day on the job. The organization and the job will no longer actually ...
- 733
10
votes
1
answer
1k
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What method can I use to properly set expectations for a group of new players with a history in cRPGs?
Background
I have played most cRPGs on the market, but have never player a TTRPG before. I've been reading and watching a lot about D&D 5e for quite some time now, so I think I have a decent ...
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33
votes
6
answers
4k
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Does limiting the number of sources help simplify the game for a new DM with new and experienced players?
I still consider myself pretty new as a GM. I have been running D&D 5e for about three years now (not regularly which is why I would say still newish). I am about to embark on a campaign with some ...
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24
votes
7
answers
6k
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Am I acting unreasonably or do I rein in my players?
I'm a very new but very eager DM. Me and my friends have long been wanting to play and as always we had no DM so I took up the reins.
My players are very extremely creative and I want them to be able ...
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40
votes
10
answers
6k
views
How can I enjoy being a DM when I have an explorer personality?
I live in a small Finnish town with my wife and we want to play. But we cannot find any GMs there. So I decided to try to be GM myself. The problem is - I love to explore the worlds, story, monsters, ...
- 481
7
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How do I encourage my players to ... play? [closed]
I'm new to DMing. Of the many, many problems I anticipated I never expected to have players not do anything at all, and I'm not sure what to do with that.
Its a small group with only 3 players. We've ...
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4
votes
3
answers
280
views
How do I make my campaign feel less linear? How do I make PC decisions Rewarding? [closed]
This is my first campaign as a GM and I feel that I need to give my players more options, or the ability to make more decisions, and sometimes when they make big decisions, I feel like I am not ...
- 125
7
votes
1
answer
475
views
I have a problem incorporating a player with ADHD [duplicate]
There's a kid in my High School D&D group with A.D.H.D and he has a lot of trouble sitting still and distracts the other players. He's having a lot of fun goofing off, and doesn't seem very ...
- 2,228
2
votes
3
answers
654
views
Is it normal for my players to be this casual about the game? [closed]
I'm a new DM and I'm running a group of new players. We're a pretty casual group and they haven't bought books or dice, and aren't very invested in the game. Is that normal? How much should I ask of ...
- 2,228
4
votes
0
answers
204
views
Freezing system for Arctic adventure [closed]
I will soon DM my first Game. I've created an Arctic story and want to implement a homebrew Freezing mechanic. I want to make a "Freezing status" update about 3 - 5 times per in-game Day. Each ...
- 149
1
vote
0
answers
6k
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Making Deals with Devils [closed]
I'm preparing for running my first campaign (Storm King's Thunder) and I've got most of the basic information down in terms of running the campaign with the information provided but I wanted to add a ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
141
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Starting out with D&D from complete scratch [duplicate]
I'm currently planning to get myself and three other friends into D&D, so I'm looking for tips on starting out from scratch.
To be clear, by from scratch I mean I don't have any dice, any ...
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4
votes
1
answer
223
views
Can I create a tree structure to my The One Ring games to help guide the player?
I am trying to be a Loremaster (LM) for a session of The One Ring. Right now the only player is my wife, who loves LOTR series.
I am trying to create a campaign using the Marsh Bell ready-to-play ...
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4
votes
1
answer
1k
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How do I recover from an awful DMing session?
Protip to anybody out there. If you're running on little to no sleep and an extremely high fever, don't try to run your game.
I'm running an online campaign on Roll20, and I - in my deluded, slightly ...
user47769
4
votes
4
answers
788
views
Player being far too pushy, but I don't know how to respond [closed]
I’ve been preparing a campaign group for one of my friends who hasn't been able to get a solid group going.
However, one of the people I asked has been... incredibly pushy and forcing me to make ...
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11
votes
3
answers
3k
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Does the Player's Handbook contain anything that would specifically help dungeon masters?
Does the Player's Handbook contain anything that would specifically help dungeon masters?
I am curious about this because I am trying to find out if I can honestly learn a lot about Dungeons and ...
- 119
19
votes
2
answers
1k
views
In what ways will having 6-8 players negatively impact a Powered by the Apocalypse game?
Background
Having previous experience with mostly 3.5e and some 5e as a PC, my friend group is slowly conspiring to install me as a GM for their first TRPG experience.
I have come around to the idea ...
- 459
3
votes
0
answers
241
views
How much can I let the players know about the campaign? [closed]
I was playing "The Lost Mine of Phandelver" with some friends, but this was my first time as GM, and I don't know how much I can let the players decide about the campaign, about the history and about ...
- 39
2
votes
0
answers
25
views
How should I start playing and running Role-playing games [duplicate]
I want to start playing Role-playing games, so how should I start playing and running Role-playing games?
Thanks In Advance!
- 21
1
vote
0
answers
160
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How do I learn to be a GM? [closed]
I have never played Pathfinder before or D&D. My friends and I started a trial run with various characters that they made and I have been directed into the GMing position. Yet I have no idea what ...
user44624
45
votes
3
answers
11k
views
A player made a 4th-level character for our new game and didn't tell me. Now what?
I started to GM 5th edition D&D a few weeks back; I am running them through the Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure.
After a few games I've almost already killed two new level 1 characters but I ...
- 461
12
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Being an experienced player in a group of new ones
We have recently started playing DnD 5e with a group of real life friends. I have many years of experience with various PnP games under my belt and have also played DnD for a good amount of time and ...
- 527
33
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Is D&D a suitable tool for fleshing out my own fictional world?
So I've gone around on the web, trying to figure out exactly how D&D works, and still I'm befuddled. Let me first start by stating what exactly it is I'm trying to achieve.
So, I'm an aspiring ...
- 333