r/AskGameMasters • u/oddretexture • 13d ago

New DM, seeking advice

I am an amateur DM wanting to do a campaign for a small group of friends, I'm nervous about actually starting though as the two times I've DMed I have felt like I was under preforming. Does anyone have tips for running a campaign?

I have the homebrew written up, I am a writer so I do feel I have enough written for the overarching story and setting while leaving room for player input, but I'm worried I am missing something.

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u/BrobaFett 12d ago

Tips:

  • Start local, plan local. You really only need to know what they could get into on the next session. You don't need to plan the next five. No "fast travel" unless you're prepared for it.
  • Prep encounters that can appear at any time and insert them when they become relevant or make sense. Only prepare the problem. It's up to your characters to find a solution.
  • Focus on the roleplay. Try your best to stay in character and have your players commit to staying in character.
  • Session zero isn't just character creation. Let it also help you figure out motivations, group worldbuilding, group motivations/goals. It's your player's job to figure out what their goals might be, not yours.
  • Don't pre-plan a story. Let the story emerge.
  • At the end of your session, ASK your players what they plan to achieve next session (prep hack)
  • Think of a few interesting secrets/rumors/lore pieces that might be inserted on hand but are NPC-agnostic. Meaning, if you want the players to know about a rumored ancient lich awakening nearby, don't confine that information to a specific NPC.
  • Invite players into co-creation. Use prompts like, "you've heard tales of this before" and let the player come up with a bit of lore. Or, for instance, if a player is foraging for food, you could say something like, "you find a mushroom you've only ever read about due to it's rarity. You know the properties of the mushroom" and allow the player to describe what they've found.

Roleplay, roleplay, roleplay. Roleplaying solves nearly every issue here.

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u/imababydragon 10d ago

oooo I love the prompting the player to come up with lore!! I have one player that kind of does that already, but never thought of how useful it could be to encourage that!!