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Help! Im an unexperienced DM and need inspiration
I understand D&D (i own the 1st edition books and understand the definition of an rpg) but apparently ive been told that im not that good at being a DM, i really want to however, and i would say i have a good imagination! Im really looking for good plot twists, examples of good campaigns, ways to get my PC's to act seriously (because sometimes they do not take things seriously), and how to focus on the story when they craft it themselves. thanks :D
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What is it they don't like? There are so many different things a DM does that just knowing "I've been told I"m not that good at being a DM" doesn't tell us what we should advise you on -- it doesn't help to be talking about writing a campaign when your players don't like how vague your descriptions are, for example! If you don't know what they don't like, go ask them.
That being said, by far the best way to improve your DMing is to play a lot of games with different DMs and observe what you do and don't like and how you could change your own style. Have you played much?
One other question is what edition are you playing? I bring this up because you mention 1st edition, and there is a certain difference in playstyle between when D&D started and where it is now. If you and your players are experienced with different editions, you may be coming to the table with very different views on how the game "should" be played and what a DM "should" do.
Savannnah gives very good advice.
I think I second the suggestion of sitting in on a few other sessions to pick up tips, but also urge you to listen carefully to what the players want of you.
twiggyleaf
"Shimring - The Faces of Divinity":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shimring
(a multiplanar 3.5 D&D campaign)
"I met a traveller from an antique land....."
CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign
Inner Council Member
There are a number of links around OP that have some good advice. "The RPG Formula":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1273 , "How to Get Your Players More Involved":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1231&page=1 and "My OP Experiment Has Failed":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=2353&page=1 are 3 of them.
Most of all, just be honest with your players and yourself. Do they think you are not good because you are too easy? Too tough? Don't give them everything a 15th level character would have at 1st level (if that is the case, find new players). I have found that the key is involving your players not only in the game, but in the creation of the game.
killervp
"A God...Rebuilt":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/a-god-rebuilt
"Duskreign's First Ever COTM":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/wyrmshadow/wiki_pages/112011
"OP's COTM April 2012":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/a-god-rebuilt-aprils-cotm/
Just trying to help out.
Just going to throw my 2 cents worth in here, although you are already amongst great company here. A few big mistakes new DMs make were brought up by killer, twiggy and Savannah. Typically, new DMs tend to be either too easy, or too hard, and tend to give out loot way beyond the players needs. In addition, I'd suggest posting your wiki link here, and have some of the the other community members take a look. Story is the most important part of DMing. If you think you have a solid story, then I'd focus on a few other details. First, are you totally prepared? Players don't like having to wait while you prepare or look things up as the game is going. Make sure you've got book marked anything you might need, including spells, abilities, etc. Next, listening to your players is great advice. Have you asked them what they like and dislike about what you are doing? Make this a conversation for the whole group. Role Playing is a co-operative effort. Are your players participating enough? Are you over participating? Do you herd your players into things and not give them enough options? These are all things your players can give you advice and feedback on. Remember before you ask them though, to encourage them to be honest, open, and helpful. If they give the feedback in a manner that's intended to help, then you should also be open and honest with yourself. Sometimes honest feedback is hard to hear, make sure you aren't defensive about it. You don't have to agree with it because its feedback, but you certainly should consider it. Last, I'd suggest thinking back on what othe DMs you enjoyed playing with, and what was it about their style and game that you enjoyed? Then try to bring those elements into the game for your players.
"Sample Questionaire":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/star-trek-late-night/wikis/matts-questionnaire
Remember that the players are the central characters in the story. Don't just write a plot and dump them in the middle of it, try and gauge their ambitions and desires and apply that to the structure you have going on. This is not to say that you should hand them what they want on a silver patter, but if the group is of one mind about a certain course of action, don't just railroad them into your way of thinking, but instead try to understand why they seem to want to take the other path and note it for future reference.
But I cannot stress this enough: Provide open dialogue between the GM and the Players. You would not believe how much good it did for the group I'm in when we finally discovered that the DM needs just as much feedback as the players do. Don't assume an adversarial role where it is the players versus the dungeon master. Your job is not just to create obstacles for the players, but also to help them navigate them.
Just trying to help out.
I don't write out entire scenarios, just important highlights and NPCs, that way i don't need to force the play into specifics choices. Giving the pc's more options on what they want to do, and then i try to work the moments into the story.
as for the group not being serious, that really depends on the people playing. I've played with some that're more beer and pizza than RP'ing and others that are in character the moments the dice come out. I've enjoyed both, but i tend to gravitate to less "serious" atmosphere overall, usually they buckle down when needed.
Tt helps to be pretty well versed with the system you're using, or at least playing with someone who is. Golden rule of DM is you make the rules (just keep them consistent for both PCs and NPCS if you're going to make house changes ~ open dialog with PCs is usually a must if you're going to go this route as well)
I will make rule calls of the cuff sometimes if it keeps the flow going, instead of busting out the index (try wading through shadowrun 2nd ed for scene specific stuff, ha!)
without sitting in with your games, it's harder to give more specific help.
You might even find that the picture your players paint is even more exciting than what you were considering or that it can mesh really well with your ideas.
Also, don't be afraid to steal! If you read a book, watch a movie/tv show, or scope out another plot idea that you like, take 'em. Pretty much anything can be adapted with a bit of work.
As a side note, I personally don't advocate setting out to kill PCs in any situation. If they do something stupid during a tense moment, yeah they might die. But a dead PC doesn't generally advance the plot nearly as much as live one. That's just my opinion, though.
killervp
"A God...Rebuilt":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/a-god-rebuilt
"Duskreign's First Ever COTM":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/wyrmshadow/wiki_pages/112011
"OP's COTM April 2012":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/a-god-rebuilt-aprils-cotm/
Just trying to help out.
> 1: F*K the rules, play it your way. (If there are rules you don't really get and no one remembers anyway, just forget about them entirely. If you think any rule is stupid that just makes the game less fun, take it out, just try not to Eff up the entire game in doing so).
>2: How to Be Prepared for Anything: Don't Prepare for Something. (Of course you have to write out the basic plot, but never assume there is any one way or any small number of ways a problem can be solved. Whether the players figure things out the way you wanted them to or not, make sure you have a means of BS'ing yourself out of halting the game. For example: My PC's were going to take down some cultists, and they managed to kill a small boss and find a map to the center of the cult's operations. They were supposed to finish off the cult, because that was the mission, but they wanted to go back to town and see what sort of reward was waiting for them. I didn't want to give them their end-of-quest rewards yet, so I tried to improvise. I failed pretty hard but got things rolling again. How to learn from that experience? Write a short list of random rewards that suit levels 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30. Other DM resources you might need: Some town maps for random towns, a small library of NPC's you can meet in town, two or three plot lines that are vague enough to suit any storyline, some vendor information, some random encounters, and maybe some spells and powers and creature templates that can quickly develop some good monsters).
>3: Stay Interesting. (Don't talk for too long. Keep it short and sweet, with only the details your players need and maybe a few extras for flavor, but never too many. Make it easy to understand, read audibly and understandably, and try to keep their attention by using voices and stuff. Get into it).
>4: 10-15 Encounters per Level. (Make sure the Xp adds up that way. You should be able to level your PC's up every one or two meetings).
>5: Copy Everything. (Don't waste your time trying to come up with something new, because everything you come up with will just be somehow related to something else anyway. Go put SciFi on or some Game of Thrones on and see what you come up with. WRITE IT DOWN. Then go watch something entirely different and WRITE IT DOWN. Put these two ideas together with some other ideas you came up with and you have a unique and interesting plot. Feel free to exclude anything that's just plainly retarded).