First time DMing

[cardswonin2006]

What are the best and useful tips for a first time DM using FGU? I am using the Dragonlance - Shadow of the Dragon Queen as our first campaign to which there will be one experienced player with five other who are first time DnD players. I already have a basis for the story but any helpful tip(s) would be greatly appreciative since I want to ensure I am following the proper rules of DnD and roll playing.

[BronzeDodger]

I'll throw out some general stuff - I'm sure greater minds will do better...

1) Don't start with a full campaign like Shadow of the Dragon Queen - do a one-shot (not necessarily a single session, but a scenario you can start+finish in maybe 2-3 sessions). Any first time DM'ing will be a disaster (can be a fun disaster!!) and best if you don't have take into account long-term plot implications, on top of running the game *and* navigating Fantasy Ground *and* very likely teaching new players both of those things as well. You could even use throwaway characters to let people just try stuff without having the fear of seeing their super-cool character concept mauled to pieces in the first session. Once you have a feel both for the rules, the flow of the game, the player preferences (and your own preferences) then dive into a longer campaign, where tracking plot points and countless NPCs will become second nature.

2) Keep the sessions to a reasonable length, both for your own sanity, and to keep players interested. My thought would be 2-3 hours. Even if a combat has begun, find a way to pause (make it a cliffhanger) and don't let the schedule "3 hours max!!" session drag out to 4/5/6 hours. Even if people are gung ho in the first sessions where it's all new, you'll burn-out trying to run a game that long, you'll burn through material to actually play, and focus-level for players will go over a cliff.

3) Cut yourself some major slack and be sure the players know this is all new to you too. You'll remember some monster feature 3 rounds after it's been slicked-in-half, misname NPCs, get lost in the FGU (maybe not an issue if you've got some history as a player, but even so, the DM's job (just managing maps, lighting, tokens, etc) is just more complicated and you'll never do it "perfectly."

4) Make sure you know the plot of whatever you're running top-to-bottom. Not only does it help you remember things like "NPC A would definitely want to help, because if the PC's mention they helped NPC B...." but you can also improvise a lot more easily when you know the main plot. It allows you create your own stuff on the fly that still fits the theme/plot because you know how to keep it tied together.

5) Do some trial combats. Use the ability to open a second FGU session as a player - throw down a random battlemap, get used to the habit of "nothing goes on the map directly, it only goes onto the combat tracker *THEN* the map, and play it out. If some of the players want to help with make make it a session 0.5 - everyone get a generic PC, you load up the map with some random monsters (some simple ones like orc goons, a couple of complicated ones that have many abilities, and then just have a slug fest, seeing how the trigger attacks/damage/saves, using the quickbar at the bottom, movement from both the player and DM side on a map, etc. No plot - just a hack 'n slash 'n fireball-fest. Not only will it help you find what you need on the DM side of FGU, but you can make notes that you can share with the players (like: if it took you 7 minutes to figure out how to do that multi-target attack/save/damage combo, now you know it, and you can gives the players notes that might only be 2 or 3 bullet points like "open X tab on your charcter sheet, find Y, use button Z..."

6) When you get into the plot(s) you want to run, let the players blow up the world. Try to sit back and imagine how everything would play out if the PC's never got involved. That's your base plot. The PC's pour uncountable chaos into the mix, and that's where the plot begins to morph based on their choices. If you ever find yourself trying to predict what the players will do - stop and realize "no point to that" because it has two side-effects than can torpedo the fun. First, you may try to railroad them back to the "correct" plot (like saying: "you're not having fun the right way...") rather than just rolling with the chaos. Second, trying to predict player behavior is time you could spend be re-reading, or even tweaking the plot to make it more fun. For me, this is often adding notes about motivations or the like to pre-written encounters, or adding clues or details that bring the world to life. A pre-written description may be all of "there is a tavern in town." But since PC's and taverns tend go together, flesh it out a bit. What's it called? Is there a sign? Do they have signature drinks? Regular patrons? Would any of the PC's know rumours about it ("it's said that Zoltar the Reasonably Just hid a bag of emeralds in the walls" - and when they enter the first time they see a sign "if you punch holes in the wall, repayment is enough silver coins to cover the gap" - something like that.

Overall, just remember that if you're not having fun, likely no one is - so make sure you're enjoying the game too.

[cardswonin2006]

BronzeDodger, I appreciate the information and I will use your suggestions. I created a test campaign in FGU so I will be able to do some practice on creating battle maps and getting use to the different options. My plan is to start the main campaign by mid June. I am sure most of the player will defintily want to "blow up the world too. Again thanks for the above as I will use the notes in my campaign log.

[LordEntrails]

Bronze Dagger gave you great advice.
I'll reiterate some aspects; Go slow. Practice a combat or two. Don't expect to use every feature of FG. Have fun, and don't sweat it.

[WinterSoldier7]

On the Dming side, this video helped me a lot;

https://youtu.be/1K8hGhpQzKg

I wholeheartedly support the advice to start with a one shot. I, in fact, ran three connected one shots (a three-shot?) and learned so much in them that I felt confident creating a campaign we still play three years later.

[jerrie]

Let cool stuff happen, even if it's not super realistic. Players need bursts of "the Rule of Cool". It gives the game a hit of pure oxygen and can get people pepped and re-energized.

[BronzeDodger]

While there was not lot about 4e D&D that I want to revisit, the use of minions is an exception (jerrie's pos made me think of this). From the DM side it's easy to track 1hp goons - from the player side you get to be Conan mowing down countless opponents (though not without risk, they can still attack) - and that can be pretty awesome used cinematically. My typical comparison is the rare Star Trek NG where they encounter vastly inferior technology but want to remain diplomatic. I think the scene is something like two skirmishing planets and one threatens to open fire on the Enterprise - Worf scans them and they are armed with Lasers which garners a reaction akin to "those won't even scratch our navigational shields". So, for a change, the Enterprise is monstrously dominant and can focus on the relationships without even worrying about being attacks.

[cardswonin2006]

A quick update, I have now hosted my 3rd DnD session and so far it is going well as I have used everyones input as it was very helpful. Especially BronzeDodgers 6 points. So thank you everyone for their input.

[LordEntrails]

Great to hear! Let us know if you end up with any challenges or advice to pass on

[WinterSoldier7]

One of us. One of us. One of us.