This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Author Topic: Learning good practices as a starting DM?  (Read 2872 times)

Theory of Games

  • Disaffected Game Warrior
  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 485
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #30 on: September 09, 2021, 07:57:49 PM »
Get Robin Laws "Law's of Good Roleplaying".

It helps you shape the game/story around WHAT THE PLAYERS WANT. If your players are having fun,

that's all that matters.
TTRPGs are just games. Friends are forever.

Banjo Destructo

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • B
  • Posts: 240
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #31 on: September 10, 2021, 11:27:26 AM »
So I've been wanting to learn how to be a DM, and was starting the process of... I dunno.. thinking about running some smaller/one off adventures with pre-made characters (because the people I know take forever to make characters...), and I was thinking the one-offs would have specific scenarios/situations or mechanics that were included to help me learn and practice the tracking of certain mechanics of running the game that would perhaps be good foundations for future use.

So I'm kinda wondering if anyone has any advice on things I should try to include or list out that are useful to keep track of or include so that I can be sure to get the practice/experience to be able to run games smoothly.

What game are you running?

I was going to run OSE.

Trond

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2743
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #32 on: September 10, 2021, 11:41:46 AM »
I remember one first-time GM who, when someone came up with something completely unexpected, she just threw up her hands and said "but I don't know what to do in this situation!"

Don't to that. Make something up. Even complete BS. Fake it till you make it :D

KingCheops

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • K
  • Posts: 1272
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #33 on: September 10, 2021, 12:39:20 PM »
I remember one first-time GM who, when someone came up with something completely unexpected, she just threw up her hands and said "but I don't know what to do in this situation!"

Don't to that. Make something up. Even complete BS. Fake it till you make it :D

Rule #1.

Ocule

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 451
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #34 on: September 10, 2021, 12:59:14 PM »
I needed to think about this for a little bit before responding because there are a million things that can make someone a better game master but most things you're probably going to need to learn through experience. So I've concluded that going into being a DM the best advise I can give you is whatever happens, just roll with it. If a player defeats an enemy much easier than expected or kills an npc you had plans for then thats okay. Roll with it. Don't fudge dice, just roll with the results and the last example is if a player tries something creative and reasonable don't quash it just because you didn't plan for it. Most things that happen you didn't plan for. They may side with an npc you didn't expect or get really attached to someone who was a randomly generated background extra. Or on the otherside if they aren't biting that plot hook you dropped just shelf it for later or reuse the dungeon later on. If it makes sense, roll with it. If you need a minute to collect your thoughts plan for a short intermission tell everyone to go get snacks or go use the restroom while you catch up.
Read my Consumer's Guide to TTRPGs
here. This is a living document.

Forever GM

Now Running: Mystara (BECMI)

Olkin

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #35 on: September 11, 2021, 12:14:52 PM »
There is already some really great advice here, so I'll add some quick things that help me run a game.

1) Organization - make sure your NPCs and encounter details are organized. Don't flip back and forth in a module or monster manual. For encounters, I use bullet-points more than text and I usually convert module encounters/rooms to an easy-to read list. For monsters, I have quick stats written down and easily accessible (AC, HPs, attacks is all you need). I use a small journal at the table, but something like index cards or a notebook could work as well.

2) Simplicity - if you find yourself getting anxious over rules (for example, how illumination effects combat) make a simple ruling. When I ran AD&D 2e many years ago, I stuck to a -4 to +4 sliding scale. If something was really hard, I gave a -4, and if it was really easy, a +4, with +/-2s in the middle. Simplicity also plays a role in adventure design. As one of my favorite D&D personalities on the internet said, "Players want to kick down doors, kill orcs, and grab loot." You don't need to write Game of Thrones.

3) Fun - Keep it fun and make sure you're having fun too. This kind of goes with simplicity, but if some rule is causing stress or slowing things down, find a way (a FAIR way, usually favoring the players) to simplify it. If the players want to kill more goblins, make it a reality. If they want some investigation plots, throw it in there. Just do it in a way where the game is moving at a good pace and you're all having fun!

I think you've received some great advice so far. A few people mentioned on-the-job training, the inevitably of failure, etc. and I totally agree with that. Another poster said that after 30 years, he learns something new each session. I can't promote this enough. I have been DMing for the same amount of time and I am still learning as well. Embrace this experience and it will serve you well.
"Human medicine is like castrating a bull with a shotgun..."
- Olkin, 'Speaks with the Dead', Wild Magic West

Shawn Driscoll

  • Role-Play Purist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2928
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #36 on: September 11, 2021, 02:44:34 PM »
So I'm kinda wondering if anyone has any advice on things I should try to include or list out that are useful to keep track of or include so that I can be sure to get the practice/experience to be able to run games smoothly.
I have a relatively short video series on role-playing at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJNq3rYMoz_X32WppSCzzYg8MjJS-JfAm

TKurtBond

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 29
    • Lacking Natural Simplicity
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #37 on: September 11, 2021, 10:15:45 PM »
I was going to run OSE.
That's a good choice.  It is very well organized and presented. 

I think Necrotic Gnome's adventure The Hole in the Oak is a good module for early levels, and is also well organized and presented.
My blog, Lacking Natural Simplicity, which has  Another Take (and in Geminispace at gemini://consp.org).  And the Minimal OpenD6 SRD.

Lunamancer

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1293
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #38 on: September 12, 2021, 12:59:41 AM »
My top 4 tips.
  • Keep it simple. You don't need to hit a home run your first time at bat. Start with what you know. Assimilate more little by little as you get hang of things.
  • 80/20 everything. 80% of your bang will come from just 20% of your buck. Identify the 20%, and focus your prep time on that. I get a lot of mileage out of having monsters to fight, so I prepare some stat blocks. Even my statblocks are mostly boiled down to just 5 stats, the 20% of a monster's characteristics that give me 80% of the play value.
  • Making sense is over-rated. Mystery is better. Just about anything can be explained. The GM doesn't always need to know up front what the explanation is. In fact, when the GM knows the explanation, there's a tendency to telegraph it. Interest levels are generally higher when trying to solve some mystery than when the mystery has been solved.
  • Practice with Appendix A. This is the AD&D 1E DMG section on random dungeon creation. I recommend using it for solo play. There is a TON you will learn from this. The value of exploration. Staying organized. Trim the fat. How to GM in the face of different character types and party compositions. Making calls on the fly. Adding creative touches to a given adventure structure. Improvising in real time.
That's my two cents anyway. Carry on, crawler.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.

Steven Mitchell

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • S
  • Posts: 3770
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #39 on: September 12, 2021, 09:24:19 AM »
My suggestions:

- As others have said, nothing you read is going to mean much without some experience.  Find some players that will put up with mistakes, often hilarious, party-killing mistakes, and go. 

-- If you must read outside things, start with the Angry GM mentioned earlier.  Some of his recent posts may be an even better introduction than his book.  He isn't always correct, and his tone is an acquired taste, but he does the very important step of telling you on each piece of advice why it is there, so that you can make an informed decision about how to adapt it to your game, and breaks it down into usually clear steps from the ground up.  If you must read Robin Laws, only do so after reading others and with some practice, because most of his advice is the complete opposite of the Angry GM's, and is often feel-good pablum rather than practical advice on how to do anything.  Even when Laws is correct, it is situational advice for an experienced GM, not something you can just do and understand later.

-- And, in fact, starting as soon as possible is what the Angry GM tells you--here's a way to get started, go run a game doing these simple things, then come back and read more.  Whether his exact suggestions for how to start are the best or not doesn't really matter, though the one to do a one-off with pre-gens is gold.  It's always a good idea to learn a new system with something that you aren't 100% committed to doing a campaign for.  If it happens to turn out great, you can always flesh it out into a longer game later.  But there is no promise of that.

-- There is a difference between all the discussion, rules-interpretation, and thought between sessions versus what you do in the session.  In the session, just do the best you can to be focused on keeping the game moving right now.  If it completely comes apart, and you must do more than make a quick ruling, or maybe you are overwhelmed, then explicitly stop the game for a few minutes, resolve things best you can with the group, and then explicitly get back into the game.  This is especially important if the players are more experienced than you.  When you drop out of game that way, you are deferring to their experience to help you learn something that, in your judgment, you really need to know right now.  While learning, you want to make it explicit because this will help you get into the proper frame of mind, will be clear to the players when you want to discuss versus keep going even with nasty mistakes, and will help you avoid the habit of running for help every time there is a little uncertainty.  Going for help needs to be a conscious choice.  The cost of stopping the game isn't all that great, as long as you don't do it a lot, but it is a cost. 

- I have yet to see any game that does a better job than Toon of getting the GM started,  If you are really nervous about it, buy that and run it.  It's easy to learn, short to play.  You won't learn everything you need to know to run D&D or something similar running Toon, but you will get some of the basics out of the way.  Barring that option, it would be difficult to top Moldvay Basic as a good starting place.  Not perfect, but then nothing is.  I don't own OSE, so can't comment on that, but as I understand it, should be compatible with Moldvay.  If it lacks the how to start advice of Moldvay, you could run OSE the Moldvay way.  If it's got its own version of that, good enough.
« Last Edit: September 12, 2021, 09:26:17 AM by Steven Mitchell »

jeff37923

  • Knight of Common Sense
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18318
Re: Learning good practices as a starting DM?
« Reply #40 on: September 12, 2021, 10:26:44 AM »
 If you and your Players are having fun, then you are doing it right.

The rules serve you as GM, not the other way around.

For just a pure teaching/learning beginners module, take a look at Tomb of the Serpent Kings. It is a free download and might be very helpful.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/252934/Tomb-of-the-Serpent-Kings--Deluxe-Print-Edition

Good Luck!
"Meh."