Jumping in the deep end - DM my own games

[Beedub]

Hi All,

Since joining Fantasy Grounds I have not had much luck finding a game in my timezone, so I've decided I am going to have a crack a DM'ing a game for beginners, like myself. The idea is that I will develop a very small adventure that can be completed in a couple of hours. This will introduce me to module building on a small small scale. I will then run these beginner sessions on a weekly basis (most likely saturday or sunday afternoons or evenings (GMT+11, AEST) to build my confidence in being the DM and introduce the players to RPG on Fantasy Grounds. It will either work or it won't, but either way it should be fun.

So my question is, where should I start with rulesets and do I have to purchase anything more than the ultimate subscription? I was planning to start with the Dungeons and Dragons basic ruleset (is that corerpg?), but should I just jump into Dungeons and Dragons 5E ? I have not bought the Dungeons masters guide or the players guide as yet. Do you recommend I get these before trying the above plan?

Since my last post I have been spending hours upon hours going through all of the wiki videos as well as trawling youtube and watching D&D 5E games to get a feel for how it is played.

[Myrdin Potter]

The basic ruleset is 5e and the SRD comes for free, and you can design most adventures using it. I recommend the Players Handbook, the monster manual and the DMs Guide in that order. Volo is also good.

The advantage to the PHB is that you get all the class options automated. MM gives you all the monsters plus nice tokens. I would wait until they individually come on sale to buy them. You can start everything else without them.

The ulitmate license allows anyone to conenct, even demo license. The full license requires everyone else has the full license. Always easier to fill games with the Ultimate license. There is no extra content for the Ultimate license.

[LordEntrails]

So what I would do is to go ahead and buy the PHB (Core Class Pack). It makes character creation so much easier. Later down the road you can buy the DMG and then if you are developing your own adventures the MM and/or Volo's, Tomb of Beasts, etc

My understanding is you can get a free adventure from AdventureAWeek. I don't remember if it is a trial or if you need a coupon code. And then if you like it you can subscribe.

There are also several good adventures on the DMsGuild, just make sure you search for VTT adventures. Rob2e has one and so do I, and others as well. You can find them with this link; https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?filters=0_0_45393_0_0_0_45545_0 Note that not all of what shows up here will be adventures, some people list maps and such resources as adventures so make sure you read the descriptions. I think they start at $1, though some might be free or PWYW.

If you decide to make your own, I suggest you read this Adventure Module Best Practices (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?33538-Adventure-Module-Creation-Best-Practices) I put together as it will help avoid some issues.

Then just keep asking questions :)

[damned]

Hey Beedub it can take time to find a game/group so if you still want to play dont stop looking.
In the meantime do feel free to start a game as a GM. Even suggest to those that you recruit that it would be great if there was more than GM in the group and you could occasionally swap roles.

Timing: If you play AUS evenings the game is really only open to other AUS players (evenings) and Euro players (late morning). For most parts of the US our evenings are too early. This is fine of course but if you find it hard to get players and you are available at your early afternoon your game will be accessible to US players as well. Just something to keep in mind.

Beginners Game: There are plenty of beginners - beginners to RPGs and/or to FG so I think that your option will be popular enough.

Source Material: If you have ideas for your own stuff go for it. If you have some adventures in physical or PDF form you can convert them over. You can also buy some fairly low cost adventures here and on DMsGuild.com in FG format or some in PDF format ready for conversion (DMsGuild).

License: If you are partly targeting new players you will have better success with the Ultimate license. I personally think that players ought to buy their own license irrespective of whether the GM has an ultimate but thats another story. If you are not quite sure just yet - go with a $10/month sub for a couple of months. If you want to buy something thats fairly quick to get up and running get Lost Mines of Phandelver - its prepped well, its targeted at low level characters, its good for GMs and Players to learn on (rash adventurers will die though!) and it comes with 6 pre-gens - use them and only them to keep things simpler for you. $40 will get you 2 months, 4 to 8 sessions of gaming and a good introduction for all.

[Answulf]

Hi Beedub,

For inspiration, here is a great video series on how to DM for the first time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8&list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_

He's talking about playing face-to-face, but it is easily adaptable to FG.

[mhorgunn]

Hi Beedub,

For inspiration, here is a great video series on how to DM for the first time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8&list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_

He's talking about playing face-to-face, but it is easily adaptable to FG.

Matthew Colville is great! That series of videos gives some great tips for DMing.

Also check out the channel on YouTube by Digital Dungeon Master. His series on Fantasy Grounds covers just about everything.

[Seya]

https://theangrygm.com/jumping-the-screen-how-to-run-your-first-rpg-session/

You should avoid making your own module for your first time DMing.
Adventureaweek.com Crowsnest is nice and easy and comes with premades.