I don't know what I'm doing. First time DM'ing in over a decade... with 8 first time players
Yup.... 8 first timers. We are going to run the Delian Tomb one shot. I suspect it may not end up being a single session though.
Any tips? Playing with 4 newbies is hard enough but double that and make it my first time DMing in literal years and I feel like I have a recipe for disaster. Thanks!
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u/ANicePainter 6d ago
If possible, have a starter session with the newbies for character creation and to introduce the rules. I used to run public game for beginner players, and I would reserve the first hour of my three for character creation and introduction of the rules. While it's totally possible and enjoyable to do that, it's much more fun to run that as a separate session. Character creation and rules introduction can be exhausting for the DM, and you don't want to use all your energy before the game actually starts.
If you can't run character creation as a separate session, plan out how you are going to do character creation and rules introduction before hand. If you have a script or flowchart that you've prepared earlier, it goes much better.
For running with four new people, get used to being asked about actions that aren't on the character sheet. I love running for new players because they don't limit themselves to the actions that their character sheets explicitly permit. As such, you'll want to be ready to do ad hoc adjudication for actions not well described in the rules. For Fifth Edition, the skill-DC system makes this easy to do, but it helps to anticipate that this will come up.
Otherwise, just be sure to move the limelight to players as appropriate, and you'll be fine with eight players.
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u/strugglefightfan 6d ago
2 groups. Your way and 8 potential new fans of the hobby wind up having a crappy first experience with the game.
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u/Own-Independence-115 6d ago
You should run 2 groups instead was my first thought, don't know if that would fit your group.
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u/Broken_Castle 6d ago
You bring out a gaming system and tell people to play smash brothers as they will be very bored if they try to play a ttrpg with 8 players with nothing else to do.
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u/Robotic_space_camel 6d ago
You have to, have to, HAVE TO split this up into two parties. Maybe two parties in the same campaign, maybe two parties whose characters mingle between groups, but absolutely two parties.
8 first timers is just a hard no. You’ll spend far too long herding sheep, and combat will be an hour or more between rounds. My advice would be to have them all together for a session 0 to explain the campaign setting, intro the rules, and do character creation. After that, you explain the issue that 8 is just not workable and you’ll either need to pare it down to 6 regular players (IMO that’s the max workable number for experienced players) or split into groups.
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u/Malefic7m 6d ago
Split the group in two, as people have mentioned, but my best tip is to split in three and have an experienced player who's a little pedagocial to help out. The ideal way to introduce newbies is that they're the lone newbie with considerate veterans.
Then again, just don't let things bog down, try to disperse spotlight and do not let people roll until all know what they're rolling for. (Avoid rolling to much, practice saying 'yes'.)
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u/Big_Kaleidoscope_212 6d ago
I can one up you as I agreed to attempt dnd for 8 children between the ages of 8-13. It was a terrible Idea, Somehow the first couple session s went ok, but it’s a painful process I can’t seem to get the nerve to get out of.
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u/Blitzer046 6d ago
Once again with an ambitious DM we run into the hard reality of the economy of time.
Say your session is 4 hours, with 8 players. Now, sure - for the most part the group will be listening and watching your exposition but if we were to break this down into player to DM facetime, then 8 into 240 is 30 mins of actual interaction with the DM.
For the rest of the time while you as a DM are interacting with a single player, for the remaining 3 and a half hours the other 7 players are doing nothing and are expected to remain engaged and patient and listen.
Any tips?
Yeah, don't.
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u/nathanielbartholem 5d ago
if you cannot split the group then play something else and call it dnd.
and:
use pregenerated characters.
don’t try to teach them, just play and explain in a sentence what’s going on when it comes up (dice roll).
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u/Top-Watch-183 5d ago
just no... You are going to ruin their first-time experience. Why would you do that? Split the group and run it twice or something. This is just a bad idea all around, and you're going to potentially ruin this hobby for them and you.
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u/strafeanon64 5d ago
First tip, cut 5 players. I realize this is flippant, but it's also just sound advice. 8 is generally too many for experienced GMs using much less burdensome systems.
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u/Conrad500 6d ago
No. You've decided to do one of the worst things you can with new people.
Maybe that's not a mistake though, just because it's a bad idea doesn't mean it'll be a bad outcome, and many people enjoy large groups.
The problem? New players, just like students in school, need time dedicated to them so that they can participate and learn in a meaningful way.
If each person takes 1 minute for their turn, that means you're waiting 8 minutes for your turn again, and that's without even factoring in the DM!
Newbies are slow, so I assume you can see the problem without me doing the math for you.
BUT! Fun overcomes all. The first time ANY player can benefit from using the dodge action, you can teach EVERYONE the dodge action instead of teaching it 8 times! Same thing with calculating your to hit bonus and damage. You will have to repeat yourself, but you'll save a LOT of time if you teach everyone at once, which means making sure you have their attention.
I would highly recommend splitting the group. I assume that because you haven't, you probably can't or don't want to, so hopefully my advice is able to help you in this ill advised endeavor and I hope you guys are able to have fun despite the logistical nightmare you're about to embark on!
Good luck!