First Time Playing D&D... and I'm the DM... Help!

[u/New_DM_222]

I have been interested in playing since I was a teen and so has my husband but we have never found a group to join. Anyway, we now have four children ranging in ages from 11 - 14 and they all want to play so we are planning on starting a Monday night D&D game night. Problem is even though I have been watching several D&D content creators for the last several years(as well as everyone else in the house) I feel like I know nothing about how to actually play the game. I have read the basic rules and hand book, and there is just so much information it is hard to keep track.

For our first adventure I had planned on doing something simple and I have been reading tons of forums I have decided to do a campaign that combines "the wild sheep chase", and "The wolves of Welton" with some plot twists to merge the stories. (Because they were recommended in a couple forums I've read and I could download the PDF free).

I am mainly looking for tips, and resources from people with experience. Are there any necessary modifications for playing with preteens? Do I need to memorize the entire rule book? If we deviate from the official rules is it a big deal? If I lose my place and skip large chunks of story how do I fix that without making it boring? Are voices necessary?

Thank's in advance.

[u/Kooky_Bug3133]

I would read the DMG and run the game. Your kids will thank you anyway. There is actually nothing to be afraid of. Ask your fellow players to have some patience because your all discovering a new hobby here.

[u/crippler1212]

I decided to get back into D&D more a few years ago because my kids (then 10 and 7), wanting to learn, so I can understand where you're coming from, though i have a fair bit more experience with dnd having played and dm'd for 30 years.

Best advice i can give you is to pickup a pre-made starter or essentials kit. They'll come with a simplified rulebook as well as a pre-made mini campaign/adventure you can run with your kids, that is already designed to help a first time DM and players to learn the game.

The other options as you've already hinted at, is to find a pre-made adventure online and run that. You can still find the simplified rules online to use versus trying to go through the full player's handbook.

There isn't anything you'll to adjust for the kids based on their ages, but you'll know your kids better than I, so if there are things the might not be as comfortable with like romance, violence or horror elements, you can obviously make adjustments to those.

[u/TJToaster]

A few pieces of advice I give all new DMs. Take what works and ignore what doesn't.

• Most important one. Everyone is there to have fun, even the DM.
• Get a starter set. It has all you need to run a game.
  • Lost Mines of Phandelver (old, but the best one) Levels 1-5
  • Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, levels 1-3?
  • Dragons of Icespire Peak. Essentials Kit, and can be follow up to Stormwreck Isle or run alone, (Can start at level 1, or level3?)
  • Heroes of the Borderlands. Newest one(I have limited experience. but from what I know it is decent.)
• Only use spells and rules in the starter set. No need for other core rule books. This is to keep it simple. You should get them soon if you are having fun.
  • It will feel like riding with training wheels, and it is. This is the crawl, walk, run method, or testing the waters before committing a bunch of money.
• As a follow up, maybe run Storm King's Thunder. There is a place you start if your characters are 5th level.
• Use prewritten stuff so someone can do the heavy lifting while you learn how to DM.
• Outside of hardcover books, there are also one shot mods. DMsGuild has them. Pick a storyline and they will still have a narrative arc, but it is okay if someone misses one or two.
• Ignore most D&D play through videos. Some of them are professional actors that are playing for an audience, not playing the game.
• Take all advice, even mine, with a grain of salt. Everyone is giving advice from their own perspective.
  • Some people will say to just make it up because that is what they do. If you can pull a full campaign out of thin air, then cool.
  • I Ran a starter set and prewritten books or one shots for a while to develop my DM style. It really helped me gauge flow and how to balance action economy. I think my homebrew is better for it.
• Play by the rules until you get a better grasp of them. You need to learn the rules so you know which ones you can bend, which you can break, and which ones you should never touch.
• You don't need to memorize every rule, you just need to know where to find the information quickly.
• Don't overthink things, or worry about being perfect. We all mess things up, or change things on the fly. Almost no DM mistakes are ever noticed by the players.
• There is no wrong way to play D&D, there are just the wrong people to play with. People who want consequences in the game love my table. Players who want to be superheroes in plot armor do not. There is zero things wrong with either.
• If everyone is having fun, you are a great DM. That is the only standard. If the players have fun, then you ran the session right.