New DM

Hey Veeky Forums got any advice for a new dm? I'm thinking of running a 5ed or Pathfinder game but honestly too afraid I'll make the game unbearable for the players. Any asvice would be appreciated

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Go with 5e and start with the starter set rules and adventure. There's plenty of DM advice in there and your players won't be overwhelmed.

Don't use Pathfinder. It's got a number of baked-in rules problems that 5e doesn't have.

Cool! Thank you guys so much :)

It's dangerous to go alone, take this...

...and this.

Both fantastic books, but they're aimed at experienced GMs.

OP is probably best off with the 5E Starter Set like suggested, which includes a pre-written adventure. So a lot of the advice in these doesn't apply.

Sly Flourish did another book called Dungeon Master Tips that was aimed more at beginner/novice GMs, but it was largely 4E-specifc.

Not OP but thanks!

Go to the OSR thread. Open the Trove and download Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Get the module Tower of the Stargazer from the LotFP and read it. It will navigate you through the GM process.

OP here
My god you guys thank you so much! Literally anything helps, all i have is the core books

A tip in general: reward all initiative your players show. Respond to every idea with something along the lines of: "Yes, great!" and take it from there. Blowing off player's input kills creativity and being positive and rewarding really boosts their confidence: once it starts flying you'll be surprised to see how the game comes to life.

One of the episodes of Critical Role does go over about stuff for new GMs. I forget what episode though.

Just remember: whatever you are doing, as long as players enjoy it, it's cool.

Need a lil' Yarr?
rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4777783

God damn this is great. All that third-party content, EVERY playtest document, and miscellaneous stuff like fonts. Thank you based Russia.

Don't stress over it too much. If you've played before, you should have some idea on what's fun for players, and that's a good starting point. Keep in mind that things don't have to be perfect to be fun; as long as your players seem to be having fun, don't sweat it if things don' go as you planned. Related to that, don't overplan things. Making detailed plans, trying to stick to them even if the players are inclined to do things you didn't plan for and either freezing up or panicking when things don't go according to plans is something new GMs sometimes do but absolutely shouldn't do.

You are welcome, bro.

>Boss has a convoluted method of beating it since he is insane
>Through out the insane dungeon players have gotten used to my tricks
>They manage to figure out the trick immediately
>They move to act
>I ask "Are you sure you want to do that?" With the biggest grin on my face
>They all immediately nope away and run from the fight

Mind games are the best.

Got a link to it?

don't try to get the players over stupid shit like, "you didn't say you take your stuff with you when you leave the inn", even if you are pissed because the stuff they have is stolen from an npc you like a lot and they totally disregarded

have a bad guy(s) make an entrance so the players don't just have sandbox to fuck around with, most players don't get anything done without an invisible shapeshifting and coureshifting set of railroad tracks.

Anything good on dungeon design?

Second

>rolling random shit or just plain nothing behind the screen
>rolling random shit or just plain nothing in front of the screen/without one

>most players don't get anything done without an invisible shapeshifting and coureshifting set of railroad tracks.
This is the singularly most important piece of GM advice you will ever receive OP.

As much as players might say they want to be the masters of their own destiny, they don't. By taking up the mantle of DM, you are ascending to a position beyond them. Your understanding an mastery will increase, but just remember that at the end of the night you still need to talk down to their level.

Good luck OP. Don't let it all go to your head.

Thirding.

5 room dungeon just because:
strolen.com/viewing/5_Room_Dungeon