Are you struggling as a dm need help?

[Boggle]

I would love to volunteer my services and i am confiedent others will chip in as well.
So no matter how crazy a question why not give me a try.

[Bibliomane74]

Boggle wrote:

I would love to volunteer my services and i am confiedent others will chip in as well.

So no matter how crazy a question why not give me a try.

My question is very general... Advice for a starting DM? The big problem is, though, that I have very limited player experience. So, how do you suggest learning to love the game from the perspective of a DM without really having the player background? And, how do you avoid feeling left out from the building of personal characters?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Shadowborn]

Bibliomane74 wrote:

And, how do you avoid feeling left out from the building of personal characters?

Thanks for your thoughts.

I can answer this one right now. You avoid feeling left out by creating well-rounded and interesting NPCs for the players to interact with. You don't have to flesh out every Dick and Jane in a town, but any character that the PCs will be interacting with on a regular basis is an opportunity to develop a personality that your players will remember. A recurring villain is a prime example, or a mentor/employer for the PCs.

[kyrt-ryder]

I can't give much advise on a traditional DMing style, but I can say a bit about my own.

For me, I don't plan anything. I get completely lost in the world (which often is entirely undetailed and only gains details as the PC's experience it) and become the rest of the game. I explain what's happening, the PC's do what they do, and the game expands on it's own accord. I make NPC's and enemies off the top of my head and it all flows into a sweet story and adventure.

If you want to try that style though, you'll have to get VERY familiar with the rules, to the point you don't need the books for 98% of it. It's not easy to reach that point, but the game is so much more real, for me at least, after you do.

[Dennis da Ogre]

Bibliomane74 wrote:

My question is very general... Advice for a starting DM? The big problem is, though, that I have very limited player experience. So, how do you suggest learning to love the game from the perspective of a DM without really having the player background? And, how do you avoid feeling left out from the building of personal characters?

Thanks for your thoughts.

First off. !Yay! for new GMS and new players!

The biggest bit of advice I have is don't let your game get hung up on rules. If you don't know a rule it's better to fudge it then look it up later.

The second bit of advice is don't argue rules with the players during the game. If a player has a dispute tell them you are running it how you feel best then look it up and get it right next time.

The idea with both these things is flow in the game is much more important to fun/ immersion than accuracy in the rules.

As for feeling left out... I kind of get that feeling also. My escape is that I like to play as well as GM. One place where you can get a bit of that is if you dig down a bit to the play by post forums and hook up with a play by post game. They tend to be a lot slower paced with more emphasis on role playing. You lose out on a lot of the excitement of advancement but you do get a role-play fix.

[kyrt-ryder]

Dennis da Ogre wrote:

Bibliomane74 wrote:

My question is very general... Advice for a starting DM? The big problem is, though, that I have very limited player experience. So, how do you suggest learning to love the game from the perspective of a DM without really having the player background? And, how do you avoid feeling left out from the building of personal characters?

Thanks for your thoughts.

First off. !Yay! for new GMS and new players!

The biggest bit of advice I have is don't let your game get hung up on rules. If you don't know a rule it's better to fudge it then look it up later.

The second bit of advice is don't argue rules with the players during the game. If a player has a dispute tell them you are running it how you feel best then look it up and get it right next time.

The idea with both these things is flow in the game is much more important to fun/ immersion than accuracy in the rules.

As for feeling left out... I kind of get that feeling also. My escape is that I like to play as well as GM. One place where you can get a bit of that is if you dig down a bit to the play by post forums and hook up with a play by post game. They tend to be a lot slower paced with more emphasis on role playing. You lose out on a lot of the excitement of advancement but you do get a role-play fix.

All good advice. Although the one thing I would add is that Play by Post never seems to work out all that well with tabletop games. I favor pure Play by Posts, designed specifically to run as such. (I happen to manage just such a game, if you don't have one in mind feel free to ask for a link.)

[Boggle]

Bibliomane74 wrote:

Boggle wrote:

I would love to volunteer my services and i am confident others will chip in as well.

So no matter how crazy a question why not give me a try.

My question is very general... Advice for a starting DM? The big problem is, though, that I have very limited player experience. So, how do you suggest learning to love the game from the perspective of a DM without really having the player background? And, how do you avoid feeling left out from the building of personal characters?

Thanks for your thoughts.

So far thanks for all dms views

Here is mine

Basically keep things small

Obvious i know

The reasons are you will be aware of what the players will likely do so you can be as well prepared as possible.

It will help know what rules to brush up on.

Try to keep the game flowing however remember you are learning so if necessary take a moment out if its critical to check a decision.

Have a list of npcs names to hand in case you need to make something up on the fly maybe a list of traits for them.

Anything like that is always useful.

Learning to love the game well for me i describe it like marmite you either love it or hate it you will know quite quickly if its for you.

Dont take every thing to heart if there is someone you regard as a good dm copy them.

In-brace the players as they build there characters you should have a lot of fun creating the npc they will meet.

Cleaver feat choices or interesting situations are fun when building the npcs.

However have a simple story and i always like to think about a twist.

Hear is an example