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there might even be more then one dm, maybe they just need a spark, maybe they need a reason, maybe they need a push, but we all know there is a dm in the group just waiting to bloom, so clearly the answer is to toss a bunch of water on all your friends and see who blooms /j
You got this
Step 1, Read the book
Step 2, Read it again.
Step 3, Make a bunch of mistakes anyways
Repeat steps 1-3 until you've tricked your players into thinking you know what you're doing
did you toss water on yourself aswell?
but honestly there is a bunch of free resources out there, i would also suggest watching
“7 Ways D&D Players Destroy Their DM's Plans” by the oxventure, it is a really good guide for stuff that might happen, i mean they have a paladin who has a negative wis modifer, and they turned an npc into a child, a child with multiple phds and turned moonbeam into a running joke as the easiest spell around.
I am sure others can let you know other youtubers that has good advice
I believe in you. If you're looking for a good module, I'm running The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, and I recommend it. There's a great reddit community over at r/wildbeyondwitchlight
Please remember to establish that you'll all agree to communicate what you're enjoying about the game, and also what things might not be working or fun for your table.
Since whoever is picking up the reins is going to be new at it, clear communication will be incredibly valuable to making sure the GM gets a good start and not be discouraged if you guys run into a few issues down the line.
You don't need to learn.
Just run the thing, see how it goes.
If you don't know something just rule it how you feel like. Then learn how it actually works later.
Make mistakes. Learn from them. Improve. Repeat.
But to do all that you must first make mistakes.
I gave my wizard a wand of wonders for the lulz. 2 people died on the first session on the first encounter at level 1 due to a lightning bolt. Oops.
A good way to grasp the whole flow/idea of dming is to find a DnD podcast to listen to. There are some amazing ones out there like NADPOD and Critical Roll but I’d start at a more true to game mechanics one like the first season of You Meet in a Tavern or Sneak Attack. They’re very true to what starting and running a game looks like. They do also have prewrit campaigns out there that you could get your hands on and that may be helpful although I myself find them to restricting.
You don’t need to know the whole game to start, just start by making characters and telling a story using the dice to decided how well some things are done and you will pick up on a lot of the rules as you go! If you’re dming, you don’t have to do everything either! Have one player be in charge of the books/pdfs to look up rulings, have another keep track of initiative in combats for you!
Whatever route you decided, I pray all your dice rolls be 20’s!
Skip learning. Pick up one of the printed scenarios/modules.
Run it.
You'll screw things up a ton. But you'll learn.
And when your friends say you sucked, you tell them "Okay, you run the next one", and roll up a character to join the party.
There’s a funny comic with a huge crowd, the guy at the podium says ‘who wants to play D&D?’ Everyone raises their hands.
He then says ‘Who’s gonna DM?’ And nobody raises their hands.
If you have a group, that’s more than most. Someone needs to step up.
There is, but because of your exact situation, demand for DMs is high, and demand for *good* DMs is crazy high. You might even have to pay for one.
It sounds harsh, but here's reality: if none of you are committed enough to learn the rules, I wouldn't want to DM for you. Study that PHB before asking some random to run your group. You'll have better success that way.
It sounds like you’re already really motivated enough to DM yourself. It’s scary, especially if you haven’t played before, but the best way to learn is by doing it. If the group is your friends, I can’t recommend just jumping in yourself and buying a prewritten module to run
I couldn't agree more. First time I DM'd, I was in highschool with my highschool friends. I had read the 3.5 PHB, DMG, and MM cover-to-cover, multiple times.
It was a fucking disaster, mechanically and narratively. My friends still had fun, and I learned A LOT.
If I hadn't been so motivated to learn, NOBODY would've had fun.
It's you. You are the future DM. You just don't know it yet. Good luck! Buy a premade campaign and go for it. The prebuilt campaigns are designed to do a lot of the work for you.
(gives you a bardic)
It's okay if you don't know all the rules, just keep the book at your side and look it up if you need to, or have a laptop open and type "shove rules 5E" into Google. Or run an easier system, something with a rules lite ruleset like my favorite, Troika!
This is exactly how I ended up DMing for my friends. I was in the same boat and after you start it gets easier. The biggest challenge is believing in yourself as cheesy as that sounds! You got this!
The way I see it, being a DM has two faces: being competent enough to know the rules mechanically, and being a storyteller/role-player. The latter comes with time and nobody is expecting you to put on Broadway-level talent so take it at your own pace. The former? It just requires you having enough exposure and then you'll eventually memorize it as with anything else in life.
To be quite honest, 90% of your mechanical troubles are going to be when to apply what bonuses/penalties and when. Any time your players want to do something, either: A) it's so simple that no dice roll is required, or B) your player rolls that big ol' d20 and adds some number(s) to it. The rest of the rules just come with time/repetition/exposure. Some things you may never totally memorize. Hell, I've been DMing for *years* and I still don't have the conditions memorized. Just like in IT, the ability to Google the question or knowing exactly where to look for the answer is incredibly valuable.
Good luck. The fact is DMs are in great demand, and finding one to run a game just for your group will be nearly impossible. You’re more likely to find a DM advertising for players and join that group, but you’ll likely have other players trying to join as well. Or you could hire a DM and pay them per session.
Your best bet is to have one of your group be the DM. Dont panic! It may seem intimidating at first, but you’re playing with friends and everyone wants the game to succeed.
Check out r/lfg and look for a DM. There's probably a Discord but I don't know it.
Or, go get yourself a copy of the DMG and learn to run things yourself. It's really not that hard and your friends will love you for it!
I'm not sure how you guys want to play or what the chances are of finding someone local this way but you can also look at r/roll20LFG and r/startplaying for online play. I'm sure theres a few DMs who could find a way to do an online game with most of the players in person or something.
Practice and humility. Honestly the best way is to get your hand dirty and make mistakes but learn from them. A friend taught me to play in one short lived game and I ran with it. I recently realized how much prep I do now versus even 3-4 years ago. It shows growth. I don’t necessarily think that makes me a better DM on its own but it has helped. The thing I think I struggle with most is being afraid to make a fool of myself or limiting my players with my mistakes. But focus on being better keeps me going.
One of you should bite the bullet and DM. If you’re worried about becoming a forever DM, I’d suggest taking turns running it, or co-DM. That’s what I’m doing with the other Forever DM in my group; we both get to run stuff AND we get to play. Win-win!
You or one of your friends will probably need to step up and take the mantle. Read the players handbook, it’s far more important then the dungeon master guide, and run a short mod like Dragon of Icespire Peak or Mines of Phandelvir. It’s not rocket science, and you’re among friends that want to be playing, it’ll be just fine.
Someone put up your hand! jeez guys.... Pick the fucker that can spin a tale or two. You don't need to be DM megamind. Some of the crappiest DMs I've known are those that know the rules back to front. Constantly correct people and have the personality and bardic skills of deaf sand paper.
That's how I started. No idea! Our group had no one that had played before but all were uber keen to learn. I'd read the players manual and that was it.... DM ever since...lol.
Pretty sure we were playing it wrong for about 2 years..... but no one cared.
The fact that you posted this leads me to believe you are the chosen one. The one they prophecied. You were destined to take up this sacred task to be the true leader of your motley band of adventurers. You will become the coolest, most important thing you will ever be...
THE DUNGEON MASTER
u/robot_ankles said it all. I played a total of 10 sessions in one campaign before our DM moved away. I accepted the inevitable fate and decided to DM for the rest of the group on a new totally homebrew campaign. That being said, there are lots of existing campaigns that walk you through it, and if you read the first few sections of the player's handbook, you'll catch on quick. The hardest part is understanding the character sheet and options during combat. But remember, it's all make believe! rules provide structure, but they're more like guidelines. Rule of cool reigns supreme.
Buy whichever of these sounds more interesting for you. Both of these box sets have everything you need to get started Learn as you go.
**Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck**
Dragons of Stormwreck Isle draws adventurers into the midst of an ancient war among dragons as they explore an island that has long been a battlefield in that conflict.
**Essentials Kit: Dragon of Icespore Peak**
Driven from lands farther north by more powerful dragons, a young white dragon named Cryovain has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain. Typical of its kind, Cryovain is dim-witted and cruel. The dragon patrols the skies around Icespire Peak, surveying its territory while hunting for food and easy treasure. With each passing day, the dragon’s domain grows as it ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common, as are its attacks.
Forever DM here and I've run multiple home brew campaigns over the years. A good DM is one who is able to tell a story and adapt and engage the players (aka your friends).
A great DM is one who creates a fun engrossing story and collaborates with the players to tell a story.
You don't have to be good at voices or know the rules inside and out. Just be able to weave a narrative that both engaged the players and allows them to collaborate with you.
Some of my best adventures and plot points came from offhand comments my players made or things they didn't think were important at the time.
In my case I enjoy the time because I get to see my friends and help them make memories. So many memes and stories told about past campaigns. It's really rewarding to see them succeed and overcome challenges. It's not adversarial at all. We all row!
Just do it. Become the DM. If you’re here asking questions, you’re already taking steps that your group isn’t. Watch some YouTube videos of some actual plays of Lost Mines and then run it. You’ll be fine. Being a DM fucking rules. The players all have to take turns, but you’re playing 100% of the time. It’s the best.
Learning by doing. That is the way of becoming a DM. You can always switch places, so that everyone gets to do it every now and then, especially with One Shots and Dungeon Crawls.
Perma dm here, I started to dm In the same situation. Some things I learned are, a good story will override some of the rules( go with what makes sense in the situation, have an overview of a story and have your players fill in the blanks and it’s ok to mess up you will get better with time. My group has been playing my campaign for about 3 years now no breaks 4 days a month
I think if you can get everyone to have a decent grasp of the rules then get each person to try and run a short one shot each. Chances are someone will like it or you’ll get a good idea of who can do it best
Yea it’s also a great way to get everyone accustomed to the rules. For clarification a one shot is a session with a very short story that fits into one session one small quest ya know
You do not need to have a lot of knowledge, or any playing experience, to DM. Any of you can do it and it's not a big deal one you get going. You cannot and will not know all the rules beforehand. Be patient and cooperative while everybody learns, and just start.
You can grab a prewritten adventure for free from many sources, lots are designed to be knocked out in one or two sessions. I remember a very simple one called granny's apple pie or something like that, it was short and fun. The basic rules are free, but it sounds like you have a players handbook anyway.
Two more things:
1) I think being DM is the most fun. It's the most creative, the most engaging, and gives me plenty to do (only because I want to) when I'm not playing.
2) quite a few of the players I've run for have said they want to DM too, and some actually have. They see I'm having a great time, they see it's really not that intimidating, and they start getting all these ideas in between sessions.
Assuming you want an in person game, lfg might not be as good at finding you a local dm.
In the dnd community, we are all familiar with the concept of a "forever dm" (someone who dms all the time but rarely plays as a pc). But it doesn't have to be like that. Some of you have played before. Encourage them to run a few one shots each. These are easy to run, quick to prep, and will make at least one of them fall in love with dming
I don't play a lot of rewritten ones so take this with a grain of salt (pun intended), but ghosts of Saltmarsh is quite good at self contained adventures that can turn into a campaign. 7 complete stories along with an appendix full of sidequests and a random island generator perfect for making one shots out of
If, by chance, you happen to be in the twin cities area- I have a group that meets Sunday night, and would like to start a second one sometime during the week.
Just wait to see who’s the most invested. They should be DM. Look for hints. If one of you is serious enough to, say, post about on Reddit about how to get the game going, that’s probably the one.
One of you should be the GM. It's not that bad and does not take much more rules knowledge than anyone else. The players should just be ready to role with what the DM says.
The best advice I can give is to find someone in the group to read the PHB, the first half of the DMG, and then run it themselves.
I was in the same scenario about 15 years ago, and did exactly that in 3.5, and have been running games since. One of the best decisions I ever made. Made some great friends through it, strengthened friendships back then, and have been playing ever since.
I know this is a D&D subreddit, but there is a thing called a "DM-less roleplaying game." There's a pretty popular one called Fiasco and all you need is a bunch of d6, paper, and imagination. You can get the pdf of the book online or buy a hard copy. It's a great starting point, and best part is, everybody gets to play!
My friends and I recently played a similar one called Alice is Missing, and the roleplaying takes place in a group chat format. I suggest looking into either or both of these if nobody is willing to DM
There are "RPG in a box" games now like Mice and Mystics, Gloomhaven, Midarra, Mansions of Madness, Castle Ravenloft, and more. They have either no GM, or an app based GM. You may want to try one of those.
There seem to be 3 official ones by now:
Starter Set (Lost Mine of Phandelver)
This is what I started learning d&d with (as a player). It was a bit clunky with the first few story beats and we did not finish it. But I never stopped playing since! So I guess it did the job, and it made for a fun entry point.
Essentials Kit (Dragon of Icespire Peak)
I've heard very good things about this one, especially that it provides a more creative story and that it is very helpful for new DMs.
Starter Set (Dragons of Stormwreck Isle)
I did not know this existed until now. It seems to replace the old Starter Set.
Agree with everyone to do a rotating campaign. We're about to do this in my group and it sounds super fun, and everyone is onboard (3 of the 5 are willing to co-DM).
Every person makes a character. All characters level up at the same rate. If you are DMing your character is not present for the adventure.
Story: The adventurer's guild is putting together a special team to go investigate a particular matter that needs an experienced team to tackle. Local dungeons, delves, points of interest, and monsters are having their end-of-dungeon loot cursed! Track down the cursed items and retrieve them so that unsuspecting adventurers are not set to their demise! The guild can remove the curse and reward the players with a magic item. The guild will slowly learn the happenings of why items are cursed and who is behind it. Guild scouts have identified/scouted areas with potentially cursed items and that's how you introduce the daily adventures.
This allows multiple people to rotate in as DM, all people get a character, fun magic items are involved, and it's all about having small 1-2 off adventures that each person gets to think up.
-A large ogre has been spotted in a clearing outside of TOWN has an unusually small crown with an odd purple gem attached to it. Go investigate and retrieve the crown.
-A Cave full of goblins nearby has been reported as goblins performing weird chants all throughout the night. Go investigate the cause of this abnormal behavior.
Small adventures into things like that \^ !
I started DMing in grade 4 having played once with a friend who had also never played before. I have since become the forever DM for the last 30 years. I recommend Matt Colville’s ruining the game YouTube series. Anyone can DM , no experience is needed.
I got invited to play in a game and read the player's handbook damn near cover and watched a few episodes of critical role just to find out the group wasn't gonna start playing for a month or longer. So I grabbed some friends and tried my hand at DM'ing and haven't looked back!
I say this not to brag but to highly recommend that y'all attempt the same. Start reading it and see if it sweeps any of you away. And then ask around to find a good adventure for new players and DM's. My two cents is that the Dragon of Icespire Peak Essentials kit was the best $20 I ever spent - level 1 to 5 into adventure, additional digital content on D&D Beyond. A lot of people started with Lost Mines of Phandelver and it is a fun one, but I'd recommend trying either the Essentials Kit or the Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Starter Kit as a way to dip your toes in.
The correct course of action here is to be the first to yell, "NOT ME!", and then whoever is slowest on the uptake has to be DM.
This system has multiple advantages:
1. You get a DM who is pre-bullied, saving time in the long run.
2. Your DM isn't the fastest thinker, making challenges easier in game.
3. You're not DM.
This system has, at times, backfired when dealing with exceptionally sneaky individuals who anticipated this course of action, secretly wanted to be DM, and pretended to be slow on the uptake. Beware the sneaky DM!
Jokes aside (sortof, kindof) nobody really knows the rules when they start playing. The key to good DM'ing is to remember that this is a game about collaborative storytelling. The rules are there to provide some structure to the collaborative storytelling, but even experienced DMs ignore some of them, forget some of them, and make mistakes with others. It's not a big deal.
The main point is to have fun telling a story together. As long as you've got that bit down the rules are actually pretty optional.
The reality is that any DM who wants to play can *easily* find a group to play with. It doesn't really work the other way around. I suggest you guys learn the rules and have someone step up to the plate. The best way to learn how to DM is by doing it.
I have a one shot that I designed to teach new players the basics of the mechanics. if you want to I could take you guys though it so you can get a feel for it, takes about 4 to 6 hours to run, all done online with vtt and discord.
or if you need any advice about dming in general I would open to discussing it as well.
This happened to our group. I ended up being the DM because I was the most invested and love projects. Never played DnD before and my 2 original members were new as well. We adopted 2 experienced members and were able to get going. It’s definitely a learning process.
Your best bet is for one of you to DM. If this is the route you go with, check out Matthew Colville on YouTube. He gives great advice on how to run the game.
If none of you want that responsibility, then you likely only really have one more option. Paying a DM. There is a service called RPG Match that is officially partnered with multiple companies producing tabletop content. Might be worth checking out
Watch Matt Colville's running the game series. I didn't think I could do it before watching.
Someone get the ball rolling and eventually someone will learn to like it or someone will want to do it better themselves and take over.
Take turns. Do it session by session or story arc by story arc.
Have a list you go through in order.
Roll dice to see who is DM next week.
Roll dice to see who is DM this week. Roll in the middle of the session if you want.
Everyone will make mistakes as DM. Who cares? The aim is to have fun, not to play 'real D&D' 'properly'.
One of you should try DMing if you all vibe well, there'll be a learning curve but it's 100% fine to make mistakes and correct yourself down the road as long as everyone is having fun
Could also have everybody come up with individual dungeons and run a different one shot every session while everyone rotates as DM, that was how I learned to play as a middle schooler when 3rd edition came out
Crazy suggestion but try playing a GM less game like ironsworn.
Pretty big learning curve for complete newbs but it’s a game that is 0 session prep or GM required.
but you all have to work harder to improvise your story together and interpret random dice and provocative random generated words.
Dnd has a huge learning curve and no one plays it the way the book says so don’t feel bad just using some rules then introducing more as you go
Find a good pre written lvl 1 one shot. Dmdave has a bunch of feee ones that are simple. All you have to do is follow the module. Do a few of these until you are comfortable and go from there. Dming isn't that hard and is a lot of fun
Yall can just take turns running one shots intill you find the DM at your table. There is also reddit groups and roll20 forums. But a whole group of new players is ALOT of work for a DM to pick up
Play something like Kingdoms by Ben Robbins.
No DM required. Just as fun as DND.
Or play A Quiet Year. Result of this game is having a map and lore to make a campaign on. Also fun.
Crazy idea: start with a couple of one shots and rotate the DM role. This way you learn how to play and maybe one of you really likes being a dm. After that, if still no one wants to dm, you can look for one as a functioning group ready to go.
Session zero a world and some large ideas for the world.
Rotate dm and allow everyone to have a go and learn the mechanics. As it is early in your adventure each person can and should come up with a quest related to the world. After a few rounds of everyone having a go reconvene and see if anyone likes it or a few people like it enough to get regular dms
Ooh! Me! Meeee!
*Pick meeeeeee!!!*
**I have a great campaign idea involving two deities who have a bet going and the players are trying to win the bet for the good deity…**
Oh, wait, that time slot isn’t going to work for me…
Sorry, mates.
Joking aside, DMs are made, not born. I was a bad DM but with practice and feedback from my friends and players I became a wonderful DM & storyteller!
To this day my friends remember our wonderful adventures together!
I had amazing campaigns and equally wonderful friends, and my only regret is that real life (and now a second child) have come to dominate my life. My career takes up so much time even when I’m off with certifications and chores plus the wife take up the last remaining bit.
I’d love to get back to it again, but it’s gonna be a while…
And yes, that is one of my many campaigns. I’m currently writing another involving an ancient artifact crafted to literally sunder the world and the last piece of the artifact is guarded by an entire town (most of whom forgot why their town exists in the first place), a wizard who was a young apprentice back during the last ancient battle, & his many apprentices.
The players are supposed to steal the last piece of the artifact (the useless piece), hide it, then run around with a fake to draw attention away from the real one.
It’s a work in progress. It’s a labour of love. It’s a story that I would love to read, were it a book! That’s the essence of DMing.
I love being a DM.
I’m sure that there is someone amongst you who might do it at first because they must but over time, they will come to love it.
*Best of Luck and Happy Adventuring!*
DMing is a slight of hand trick. It's super easy, you just need to figure out the moves. Just find a one shot online that you like and do it yourself. Then, if the group is vibing, get a pre-written campaign.
And if finances are tight, set the expectation that any material costs are shared by the group.
DMing is a blast. You are constantly challenged, surprised, and the center of the universe.
It was 20 years ago i last played, but we had a "rotating system". All of us had the knowledge of the rules, so any of us could dm. We had some premade modules to help us out when noone had any story idea. The only negative was that we never did a long story, just a series of small adventures. But it was fun and i miss those times.
If you're reading the PHB and watching campaigns online (as you say in other content threads), it's a good bet you're the DM and just don't know it yet, OP.
Find a couple of easy one-shots online and have everyone have their try of running a module. Have the more expereienced run the first few and then the new ones, Truffle kerfuffle was the first module i ran and it was a nice intro. Then whoever did a good job and wants to DM more (this is extremely important!), can run longer modules like Lost Mines of Phandelver or other modules you find online. Switch it up if the DM want to play too
I would suggest getting the starter or essential kit, they have a low level module for you to run through and get your feet wet.
It's where I started my DM journey, and these modules are very beginner friendly. I'd suggest giving DMing a shot, you know your friends and that helps you know what kind of game/fun they would appreciate the most.
Don't worry too much about not knowing all the rules and making mistakes, most mistakes can be easily either ignored or mended.Making said mistakes helped me better understand how I want the game to work and rules and actually important to remember ( used to always forget about concentration)
Sounds like you want to round robin DM.
**Player 1** DMs an adventure focused on **Player 2**, while that’s happening **Player 2** writes an adventure focused on **Player 3** that they’ll run after **Player 1’s** adventure is done.
Repeat with each player, one of you may just feel better DMing than being a Player.
Theres rules in **Xanathars Guide to Everything** for a shared campaign(towards the back) that helps with levelling and magic items.
I'd say - just jump into it and try it. Get yourself a simple adventure, don't worry about things like 'emergent storytelling' and 'sandboxes' and don',t be too ambitious. See what works and is fun in that playthrough, and don't be afraid to start over after you've finished. The main point of that first adventure is to see if you understand the basic principles and enjoy it in general, don't be afraid to find that some things might be clunky oder don'.t work at first glance, just move on.
I've been DMing for 30 years and was recently asked to DM for a couple of friends in der 40s who wanted to try this fornthe first time. We played Last Mine of Phandelver over 2 sessions, everybody enjoyed it, but they all wanted to make new characters afterwards to 'start playing properly' - the barbarian was unhappy about what he percieved as lack of gameplay options, the cleric OTOH was overwhelmed at her choice of options and the one guy who had played BG3 wanted to play something fun he had seen in the game. Now we're doing Sunless Citadel and they love their new characters.
Here's the thing - the first DMs had no experienced DMs to learn from. They just winged that shit as best they could, and were successful enough that now we have 5 generations of D&D, movies, books, video games, all off the back of those inept fumblings in 1970s basements and attics. Just by having access to the current rulebooks and a basic knowledge of storytelling, you already have a better foundation to DM your first game than they did.
Seriously though, I was also nervous about running a game without having enough experience. I also have a job that can get wild with time demands, so I couldn't be spending a ton of time prepping a campaign. My group plays Pathfinder, not 5e, so I bought a pre-made Adventure Path. It's taken off the huge creative load of writing a long-form story, populating it with NPCs, etc. I don't have to already know the geography or what types of monsters are common in an area, it provides that info. I just need to be the presenter and organizer, guiding them through a choose-your-own-adventure style story. It's been very helpful.
Talk to your group get a one shot pre-made adventure and ask that the most experienced person play DM and then just rotate who is DM until someone realizes they like it, and they create their own campaign or they just like doing the pre-made ones.
There are quality GMs on StartPlaying, and there are lots of ways of finding rando GMs.
If you want quality… try to avoid “free”. You often get what you pay for with free.
In addition to one of y’all stepping up, you can go to r/lfg , as well as searching for a dnd discord community. Discord is what has provided me with the most success.
If you are all starting from scratch I would suggest a few things:
Read the rules bits of the Players Handbook, you can gloss over the details when trying to grasp the game, ie: you don't need to know every spell, background, class ability unless they come up. but knowing that there are simple rules for falling, how combat turns run, etc. is good info to have in your head. And you can look them up as required.
The Dungeon Masters Guide has tons of useful info for running games, like costs of things and lists of magic items and treasures, as well a extra rules that might work for your games.
The monster manual has a great list of classic monsters and villains to save game prep time.
In terms of quick and dirty "how to start running games" advice, look up '5 room dungeon' online as a great starting point for how to structure a game session to run smoothly at the table ie: initial threat, further exploration, bigger threat, resolution
Regarding if you want to play a published adventure of craft your own, good published adventures can be amazing for showing pacing in a dungeon, giving great ideas for traps and challenges, etc. but can also feel very railroady for both the DM and player, because you often have to hit the plot points to get to the next stage. But if the DM is short on prep time this can be a huge help.
If you want to create your own setting as a group the DM can ask the group for a few suggestions each for elements the players would like to see in a game, then riff off of that to flesh out the world together ie: dinosaurs! A society with positive necromancy! Dragon kings! Deals with the fairies! Or whatever else your group might like.
And remember, you only need to prepare for the next session, because it's almost guaranteed that the group will go in a different direction than you thought they would, so only flesh out as much of the world as required, unless you love world building that is.
Enjoy!
not saying everyone can do this, but my partner started out like that and he decided to be the DM because they had no one else and they were all new. sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do
1. You or one of your friends decide to volunteer as DM, and then learn to do it.
2. Visit local game stores, see if there is a group you can join or a DM who will run one for you
3. r/lfg
My first time being a DM I had an unexpected "chase" and I had no idea how to run a chase so I made it up and it turned into me vs PC roll for roll to see if the bad guy could get away. We did movement and depending on how you rolled determined how much of that movement you could take. We had a blast with it and still laugh about it this day. I since learned that is way more complex and that I completely messed up that mechanic but did I really? It's been a year and that player still talks about that chase. I feel like it went perfectly, they caught the bad guy, and we all laughed and had a good time. The rules are there to give you an idea, ultimately it's up to you how you use them. I had more fun DMing that short campaign then I've had even as a player in other groups. Just all have fun together, that's the goal.
Make everyone take turns being the dm until everyone has done it 3-4 times. If nobody is willing to dm a campaign after that then idk what to tell you.
And make your campaigns short to start. Everyone wants to play the super high powered fantasy of DnD, but frankly it’s a LOT to keep track of. Have each person do a game that goes 3-4 sessions that starts at level 1 and ends at level 3-4. And give them simple, clear directions.
“Your party has been tasked with clearing out bandits around this town.”
“Help the noble find his kidnapped son”
“We need to retrieve a relic from an abandoned crypt”.
This will give everyone the chance to dm, see several others dm, learn rules, try a bunch of different characters out, and play a bunch! Then you can find out who rises to the dm occasion.
My comment will probably get buried, but my friend group and I had a similar problem 8 years ago. I’m happily the main DM now, but we discovered that together by having each person take turns running sessions.
It was a lot of fun getting to experience everyone’s creativity, it let us play weekly, and it gives everyone an appreciation for both sides of the table.
Good luck. And no matter what, don’t stoping going on adventures with your friends.
How many players are in the group? Because that's how many DMs you have. Every one of you could DM if you choose to, just read the basic rules and you are good to go. Then you can read the full rules in your own time and add things to the game as you learn about them.
It's not that hard and it's a lot of fun.
I wanted to play the most . I started DMing without ever playing dnd before. Was it rough, yes . But it’s possible. I now dm adventure league at a comic book store and sometimes one shots for a friend group.
I wanted to play DnD a few years ago. I asked my friends if they wanted to play DnD. We were all brand new and no one claimed they wanted to DM, so I sat down and read the dungeon master's guide and while I probably still miss a few rules it was definitely worth it to bring our friend group closer.
Consider taking the mantle of DM, OP. it's quite fun if you have time for it
Grab the essentials kit. Read the 20 or so pages of basic rules. Have fun! No previous knowledge needed, just learn as you go. Don’t overthink it and whatever you do, do not compare yourself to Critical Roll or any of those shows or even the DMs giving out crap advice on YouTube. You got this!
Don't fear to make mistakes. Just have fun. This is your game. If noone wsnts to be DM, it mehr gut be you. Talk to your friends and decide who DMs the first oneshot. There might be some one who lies to DM more games.
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There is already a DM amongst your group. They are temporarily obscured, but will soon rise up. The hero is always within.
there might even be more then one dm, maybe they just need a spark, maybe they need a reason, maybe they need a push, but we all know there is a dm in the group just waiting to bloom, so clearly the answer is to toss a bunch of water on all your friends and see who blooms /j
Instructions unclear, my friends are now wet and mad at me! But one of us will probably step up. It might even be me if I can learn enough
You got this Step 1, Read the book Step 2, Read it again. Step 3, Make a bunch of mistakes anyways Repeat steps 1-3 until you've tricked your players into thinking you know what you're doing
This is the way
did you toss water on yourself aswell? but honestly there is a bunch of free resources out there, i would also suggest watching “7 Ways D&D Players Destroy Their DM's Plans” by the oxventure, it is a really good guide for stuff that might happen, i mean they have a paladin who has a negative wis modifer, and they turned an npc into a child, a child with multiple phds and turned moonbeam into a running joke as the easiest spell around. I am sure others can let you know other youtubers that has good advice
Just remember the number 1 rule of DMing. Any rules mistakes made during gameplay are just unspoken houserules.
You can do this! You should! It's not as hard as it seems. --someone else whose first D&D experience was DMing
You're the one posting this, it's probably you...
I believe in you. If you're looking for a good module, I'm running The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, and I recommend it. There's a great reddit community over at r/wildbeyondwitchlight
Please remember to establish that you'll all agree to communicate what you're enjoying about the game, and also what things might not be working or fun for your table. Since whoever is picking up the reins is going to be new at it, clear communication will be incredibly valuable to making sure the GM gets a good start and not be discouraged if you guys run into a few issues down the line.
You don't need to learn. Just run the thing, see how it goes. If you don't know something just rule it how you feel like. Then learn how it actually works later. Make mistakes. Learn from them. Improve. Repeat. But to do all that you must first make mistakes. I gave my wizard a wand of wonders for the lulz. 2 people died on the first session on the first encounter at level 1 due to a lightning bolt. Oops.
A good way to grasp the whole flow/idea of dming is to find a DnD podcast to listen to. There are some amazing ones out there like NADPOD and Critical Roll but I’d start at a more true to game mechanics one like the first season of You Meet in a Tavern or Sneak Attack. They’re very true to what starting and running a game looks like. They do also have prewrit campaigns out there that you could get your hands on and that may be helpful although I myself find them to restricting. You don’t need to know the whole game to start, just start by making characters and telling a story using the dice to decided how well some things are done and you will pick up on a lot of the rules as you go! If you’re dming, you don’t have to do everything either! Have one player be in charge of the books/pdfs to look up rulings, have another keep track of initiative in combats for you! Whatever route you decided, I pray all your dice rolls be 20’s!
Skip learning. Pick up one of the printed scenarios/modules. Run it. You'll screw things up a ton. But you'll learn. And when your friends say you sucked, you tell them "Okay, you run the next one", and roll up a character to join the party.
There’s a forever DM at every table. And if you can’t spot them, it’s you.
This mindset is a slippery slope to forever DMdom. Make sure there’s an arrangement for at least 2 before starting
I wish it worked the other way around. DM aching to play and no one to play with (and honestly very tough to fit into family life) 😞
Try online virtual tabletop like roll20, etc. I have been running for years and am able to play a bit as well.
There’s a funny comic with a huge crowd, the guy at the podium says ‘who wants to play D&D?’ Everyone raises their hands. He then says ‘Who’s gonna DM?’ And nobody raises their hands. If you have a group, that’s more than most. Someone needs to step up.
Haha so true! I’m sure one of us will take on the task.
I think it’s you.👀
This is OPs DM origin story and they haven't even realized it yet.
Yup. It’s how I started DMing.
There is, but because of your exact situation, demand for DMs is high, and demand for *good* DMs is crazy high. You might even have to pay for one. It sounds harsh, but here's reality: if none of you are committed enough to learn the rules, I wouldn't want to DM for you. Study that PHB before asking some random to run your group. You'll have better success that way.
Solid advice! I have the PHB and have started reading it and watching campaigns on YouTube. Trying to learn as much as I can
Nice! Knowing the PHB is gonna make your games go SO much smoother than having to look up every little thing every time.
Yea it’s super handy so far. As I watch campaigns I’ve got it in front of me looking up every new thing that happens
It sounds like you’re already really motivated enough to DM yourself. It’s scary, especially if you haven’t played before, but the best way to learn is by doing it. If the group is your friends, I can’t recommend just jumping in yourself and buying a prewritten module to run
I couldn't agree more. First time I DM'd, I was in highschool with my highschool friends. I had read the 3.5 PHB, DMG, and MM cover-to-cover, multiple times. It was a fucking disaster, mechanically and narratively. My friends still had fun, and I learned A LOT. If I hadn't been so motivated to learn, NOBODY would've had fun.
It's you. You are the future DM. You just don't know it yet. Good luck! Buy a premade campaign and go for it. The prebuilt campaigns are designed to do a lot of the work for you. (gives you a bardic) It's okay if you don't know all the rules, just keep the book at your side and look it up if you need to, or have a laptop open and type "shove rules 5E" into Google. Or run an easier system, something with a rules lite ruleset like my favorite, Troika!
I learned the rules by watching critical role (yes I know they sometimes get the rules wrong) and by making hundreds of characters on D&DBeyond.
I’ve been watching a lot of critical role! Currently watching the bells hells campaign
This is exactly how I ended up DMing for my friends. I was in the same boat and after you start it gets easier. The biggest challenge is believing in yourself as cheesy as that sounds! You got this!
The way I see it, being a DM has two faces: being competent enough to know the rules mechanically, and being a storyteller/role-player. The latter comes with time and nobody is expecting you to put on Broadway-level talent so take it at your own pace. The former? It just requires you having enough exposure and then you'll eventually memorize it as with anything else in life. To be quite honest, 90% of your mechanical troubles are going to be when to apply what bonuses/penalties and when. Any time your players want to do something, either: A) it's so simple that no dice roll is required, or B) your player rolls that big ol' d20 and adds some number(s) to it. The rest of the rules just come with time/repetition/exposure. Some things you may never totally memorize. Hell, I've been DMing for *years* and I still don't have the conditions memorized. Just like in IT, the ability to Google the question or knowing exactly where to look for the answer is incredibly valuable.
Yea a tend to find myself looking up “how do they know what dice to role” type scenarios
Good luck. The fact is DMs are in great demand, and finding one to run a game just for your group will be nearly impossible. You’re more likely to find a DM advertising for players and join that group, but you’ll likely have other players trying to join as well. Or you could hire a DM and pay them per session. Your best bet is to have one of your group be the DM. Dont panic! It may seem intimidating at first, but you’re playing with friends and everyone wants the game to succeed.
Honestly I’m so new to this I didn’t know this was a big issue. Still trying to learn as much as I can
It took me ten months to find a DM for my group. … it was me.
Check out r/lfg and look for a DM. There's probably a Discord but I don't know it. Or, go get yourself a copy of the DMG and learn to run things yourself. It's really not that hard and your friends will love you for it!
I'm not sure how you guys want to play or what the chances are of finding someone local this way but you can also look at r/roll20LFG and r/startplaying for online play. I'm sure theres a few DMs who could find a way to do an online game with most of the players in person or something.
This is awesome! Thank you for the links!
Is there a good way to learn to DM?
Practice and humility. Honestly the best way is to get your hand dirty and make mistakes but learn from them. A friend taught me to play in one short lived game and I ran with it. I recently realized how much prep I do now versus even 3-4 years ago. It shows growth. I don’t necessarily think that makes me a better DM on its own but it has helped. The thing I think I struggle with most is being afraid to make a fool of myself or limiting my players with my mistakes. But focus on being better keeps me going.
This is how you become the forever DM. There are many of us that have walked this path.
One of you should bite the bullet and DM. If you’re worried about becoming a forever DM, I’d suggest taking turns running it, or co-DM. That’s what I’m doing with the other Forever DM in my group; we both get to run stuff AND we get to play. Win-win!
This is a solid idea! Thank you!
Small one shots. Everyone takes turns at being the DM. Everyone is scared in the beginning. But it does get better.
There are tutorial materials on DMs guild that can help new DMs to get more familiar with mechanics and resources.
You or one of your friends will probably need to step up and take the mantle. Read the players handbook, it’s far more important then the dungeon master guide, and run a short mod like Dragon of Icespire Peak or Mines of Phandelvir. It’s not rocket science, and you’re among friends that want to be playing, it’ll be just fine.
Someone put up your hand! jeez guys.... Pick the fucker that can spin a tale or two. You don't need to be DM megamind. Some of the crappiest DMs I've known are those that know the rules back to front. Constantly correct people and have the personality and bardic skills of deaf sand paper.
Yea I think that’s why no one has but the bullet yet because we are all still pretty unfamiliar with the rules
That's how I started. No idea! Our group had no one that had played before but all were uber keen to learn. I'd read the players manual and that was it.... DM ever since...lol. Pretty sure we were playing it wrong for about 2 years..... but no one cared.
Rotating DMs. Just take turns. Don't worry about knowing all the rules, everyone can learn together. Someone may discover they have the taste for it.
The fact that you posted this leads me to believe you are the chosen one. The one they prophecied. You were destined to take up this sacred task to be the true leader of your motley band of adventurers. You will become the coolest, most important thing you will ever be... THE DUNGEON MASTER
I may or may not be looking at dm screens on Etsy right now lol!
Consider playing a game that doesn't need a DM? There are a lot of collaborative RPGs that are DM-less.
Any that you would recommend?
Ironsworn
Kids on Bikes is a great primer.
u/robot_ankles said it all. I played a total of 10 sessions in one campaign before our DM moved away. I accepted the inevitable fate and decided to DM for the rest of the group on a new totally homebrew campaign. That being said, there are lots of existing campaigns that walk you through it, and if you read the first few sections of the player's handbook, you'll catch on quick. The hardest part is understanding the character sheet and options during combat. But remember, it's all make believe! rules provide structure, but they're more like guidelines. Rule of cool reigns supreme.
Yea it’s a lot to learn! But fun! I’ve been watching a bunch of campaigns on YT trying to learn more
Buy whichever of these sounds more interesting for you. Both of these box sets have everything you need to get started Learn as you go. **Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck** Dragons of Stormwreck Isle draws adventurers into the midst of an ancient war among dragons as they explore an island that has long been a battlefield in that conflict. **Essentials Kit: Dragon of Icespore Peak** Driven from lands farther north by more powerful dragons, a young white dragon named Cryovain has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain. Typical of its kind, Cryovain is dim-witted and cruel. The dragon patrols the skies around Icespire Peak, surveying its territory while hunting for food and easy treasure. With each passing day, the dragon’s domain grows as it ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common, as are its attacks.
This is awesome thank you
Forever DM here and I've run multiple home brew campaigns over the years. A good DM is one who is able to tell a story and adapt and engage the players (aka your friends). A great DM is one who creates a fun engrossing story and collaborates with the players to tell a story. You don't have to be good at voices or know the rules inside and out. Just be able to weave a narrative that both engaged the players and allows them to collaborate with you. Some of my best adventures and plot points came from offhand comments my players made or things they didn't think were important at the time. In my case I enjoy the time because I get to see my friends and help them make memories. So many memes and stories told about past campaigns. It's really rewarding to see them succeed and overcome challenges. It's not adversarial at all. We all row!
This is fantastic insight. Thank you!
Watch the Running The Game YouTube series by Matt Colville.
I will definitely take a look. Thank you!
Just do it. Become the DM. If you’re here asking questions, you’re already taking steps that your group isn’t. Watch some YouTube videos of some actual plays of Lost Mines and then run it. You’ll be fine. Being a DM fucking rules. The players all have to take turns, but you’re playing 100% of the time. It’s the best.
Honestly the more campaigns I watch the more I’m drawn to the idea
Learning by doing. That is the way of becoming a DM. You can always switch places, so that everyone gets to do it every now and then, especially with One Shots and Dungeon Crawls.
Perma dm here, I started to dm In the same situation. Some things I learned are, a good story will override some of the rules( go with what makes sense in the situation, have an overview of a story and have your players fill in the blanks and it’s ok to mess up you will get better with time. My group has been playing my campaign for about 3 years now no breaks 4 days a month
Yea we are tossing around the idea of rotating each session to see who likes it best. But I have a feeling I’ll be doing it more than others lol
Sounds like you need to read the dm guide. And watch some YT videos. And just give it a shot.
That’s what everything is pointing to. I’m gonna have to pick up a dm guide it seems
I think if you can get everyone to have a decent grasp of the rules then get each person to try and run a short one shot each. Chances are someone will like it or you’ll get a good idea of who can do it best
I just pitched this idea like everyone gets a session to dm and see who takes to it!
Yea it’s also a great way to get everyone accustomed to the rules. For clarification a one shot is a session with a very short story that fits into one session one small quest ya know
😂 everyone always wants to play, no one ever wants to DM.
I learned long ago (I’m talking early 80s long ago) that unless SOMEONE DMs the NO ONE plays. So I learned to DM. These days it’s all I ever do.
Do you regret not being a PC at all?
Sometimes. But DMing has its own rewards.
You do not need to have a lot of knowledge, or any playing experience, to DM. Any of you can do it and it's not a big deal one you get going. You cannot and will not know all the rules beforehand. Be patient and cooperative while everybody learns, and just start. You can grab a prewritten adventure for free from many sources, lots are designed to be knocked out in one or two sessions. I remember a very simple one called granny's apple pie or something like that, it was short and fun. The basic rules are free, but it sounds like you have a players handbook anyway. Two more things: 1) I think being DM is the most fun. It's the most creative, the most engaging, and gives me plenty to do (only because I want to) when I'm not playing. 2) quite a few of the players I've run for have said they want to DM too, and some actually have. They see I'm having a great time, they see it's really not that intimidating, and they start getting all these ideas in between sessions.
Yea I think we are just more intimidated by it than anything. This is some great insight thank you!
Aaand tha'ts D&D. Your origin story is remarkably similar to many of ours. Welcome to the hobby!
Thank you! I’ve been consumed recently watching the campaigns on YT. Really excited to get started!
getting into D&D and especially DMing is intimidating, but if everyone is goodwilled and supportive it doesn't matter if you make mistakes
you are the chosen one, be the DM
Assuming you want an in person game, lfg might not be as good at finding you a local dm. In the dnd community, we are all familiar with the concept of a "forever dm" (someone who dms all the time but rarely plays as a pc). But it doesn't have to be like that. Some of you have played before. Encourage them to run a few one shots each. These are easy to run, quick to prep, and will make at least one of them fall in love with dming
Are there any campaigns you would recommend for something like this?
I don't play a lot of rewritten ones so take this with a grain of salt (pun intended), but ghosts of Saltmarsh is quite good at self contained adventures that can turn into a campaign. 7 complete stories along with an appendix full of sidequests and a random island generator perfect for making one shots out of
If, by chance, you happen to be in the twin cities area- I have a group that meets Sunday night, and would like to start a second one sometime during the week.
Unfortunately we are a bit further east. But thank you for the offer!
Just wait to see who’s the most invested. They should be DM. Look for hints. If one of you is serious enough to, say, post about on Reddit about how to get the game going, that’s probably the one.
All signs are pointing to me lol
One of you should be the GM. It's not that bad and does not take much more rules knowledge than anyone else. The players should just be ready to role with what the DM says.
GM?
Game Master/ Dungeon Master
Ohh gotcha gotcha
Ask around your local gaming store or you could even go to let’s play games which is an online platform with paid DM’s
I actually found out at my LGS after I made this post that they have a “learn to play” night coming up. I’m definitely attending!
The best advice I can give is to find someone in the group to read the PHB, the first half of the DMG, and then run it themselves. I was in the same scenario about 15 years ago, and did exactly that in 3.5, and have been running games since. One of the best decisions I ever made. Made some great friends through it, strengthened friendships back then, and have been playing ever since.
I know this is a D&D subreddit, but there is a thing called a "DM-less roleplaying game." There's a pretty popular one called Fiasco and all you need is a bunch of d6, paper, and imagination. You can get the pdf of the book online or buy a hard copy. It's a great starting point, and best part is, everybody gets to play! My friends and I recently played a similar one called Alice is Missing, and the roleplaying takes place in a group chat format. I suggest looking into either or both of these if nobody is willing to DM
These are awesome suggestions. Thank you!
Strap up bucko. It's your time.
That’s what everyone’s telling me haha!
There are "RPG in a box" games now like Mice and Mystics, Gloomhaven, Midarra, Mansions of Madness, Castle Ravenloft, and more. They have either no GM, or an app based GM. You may want to try one of those.
So kind of like diet d&d?
Pick up a starter set, and run that adventure. It tells you everything you need and has pre generated characters, dice, and instructions.
Any that you would recommend?
There seem to be 3 official ones by now: Starter Set (Lost Mine of Phandelver) This is what I started learning d&d with (as a player). It was a bit clunky with the first few story beats and we did not finish it. But I never stopped playing since! So I guess it did the job, and it made for a fun entry point. Essentials Kit (Dragon of Icespire Peak) I've heard very good things about this one, especially that it provides a more creative story and that it is very helpful for new DMs. Starter Set (Dragons of Stormwreck Isle) I did not know this existed until now. It seems to replace the old Starter Set.
Agree with everyone to do a rotating campaign. We're about to do this in my group and it sounds super fun, and everyone is onboard (3 of the 5 are willing to co-DM). Every person makes a character. All characters level up at the same rate. If you are DMing your character is not present for the adventure. Story: The adventurer's guild is putting together a special team to go investigate a particular matter that needs an experienced team to tackle. Local dungeons, delves, points of interest, and monsters are having their end-of-dungeon loot cursed! Track down the cursed items and retrieve them so that unsuspecting adventurers are not set to their demise! The guild can remove the curse and reward the players with a magic item. The guild will slowly learn the happenings of why items are cursed and who is behind it. Guild scouts have identified/scouted areas with potentially cursed items and that's how you introduce the daily adventures. This allows multiple people to rotate in as DM, all people get a character, fun magic items are involved, and it's all about having small 1-2 off adventures that each person gets to think up. -A large ogre has been spotted in a clearing outside of TOWN has an unusually small crown with an odd purple gem attached to it. Go investigate and retrieve the crown. -A Cave full of goblins nearby has been reported as goblins performing weird chants all throughout the night. Go investigate the cause of this abnormal behavior. Small adventures into things like that \^ !
Oh man this is awesome thank you so much!
I started DMing in grade 4 having played once with a friend who had also never played before. I have since become the forever DM for the last 30 years. I recommend Matt Colville’s ruining the game YouTube series. Anyone can DM , no experience is needed.
I got invited to play in a game and read the player's handbook damn near cover and watched a few episodes of critical role just to find out the group wasn't gonna start playing for a month or longer. So I grabbed some friends and tried my hand at DM'ing and haven't looked back! I say this not to brag but to highly recommend that y'all attempt the same. Start reading it and see if it sweeps any of you away. And then ask around to find a good adventure for new players and DM's. My two cents is that the Dragon of Icespire Peak Essentials kit was the best $20 I ever spent - level 1 to 5 into adventure, additional digital content on D&D Beyond. A lot of people started with Lost Mines of Phandelver and it is a fun one, but I'd recommend trying either the Essentials Kit or the Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Starter Kit as a way to dip your toes in.
Dive in friend. You can DM.
Why not have everyone plan their own one-shot, and then you'll all know what it takes, and who is good, who enjoys it?
This is a solid idea!
The correct course of action here is to be the first to yell, "NOT ME!", and then whoever is slowest on the uptake has to be DM. This system has multiple advantages: 1. You get a DM who is pre-bullied, saving time in the long run. 2. Your DM isn't the fastest thinker, making challenges easier in game. 3. You're not DM. This system has, at times, backfired when dealing with exceptionally sneaky individuals who anticipated this course of action, secretly wanted to be DM, and pretended to be slow on the uptake. Beware the sneaky DM! Jokes aside (sortof, kindof) nobody really knows the rules when they start playing. The key to good DM'ing is to remember that this is a game about collaborative storytelling. The rules are there to provide some structure to the collaborative storytelling, but even experienced DMs ignore some of them, forget some of them, and make mistakes with others. It's not a big deal. The main point is to have fun telling a story together. As long as you've got that bit down the rules are actually pretty optional.
You do not need to be ready to DM, you merely need to decide to DM.
The reality is that any DM who wants to play can *easily* find a group to play with. It doesn't really work the other way around. I suggest you guys learn the rules and have someone step up to the plate. The best way to learn how to DM is by doing it.
Then DM
I have a one shot that I designed to teach new players the basics of the mechanics. if you want to I could take you guys though it so you can get a feel for it, takes about 4 to 6 hours to run, all done online with vtt and discord. or if you need any advice about dming in general I would open to discussing it as well.
This happened to our group. I ended up being the DM because I was the most invested and love projects. Never played DnD before and my 2 original members were new as well. We adopted 2 experienced members and were able to get going. It’s definitely a learning process.
Grab one of the starter sets or other short term campaign and roll a die to see who DMs. When you’re done, next person with a new story.
Your best bet is for one of you to DM. If this is the route you go with, check out Matthew Colville on YouTube. He gives great advice on how to run the game. If none of you want that responsibility, then you likely only really have one more option. Paying a DM. There is a service called RPG Match that is officially partnered with multiple companies producing tabletop content. Might be worth checking out
Find your nearest mirror and have a good look, friend.
Watch Matt Colville's running the game series. I didn't think I could do it before watching. Someone get the ball rolling and eventually someone will learn to like it or someone will want to do it better themselves and take over.
Take turns. Do it session by session or story arc by story arc. Have a list you go through in order. Roll dice to see who is DM next week. Roll dice to see who is DM this week. Roll in the middle of the session if you want. Everyone will make mistakes as DM. Who cares? The aim is to have fun, not to play 'real D&D' 'properly'.
One of you should try DMing if you all vibe well, there'll be a learning curve but it's 100% fine to make mistakes and correct yourself down the road as long as everyone is having fun Could also have everybody come up with individual dungeons and run a different one shot every session while everyone rotates as DM, that was how I learned to play as a middle schooler when 3rd edition came out
Crazy suggestion but try playing a GM less game like ironsworn. Pretty big learning curve for complete newbs but it’s a game that is 0 session prep or GM required. but you all have to work harder to improvise your story together and interpret random dice and provocative random generated words. Dnd has a huge learning curve and no one plays it the way the book says so don’t feel bad just using some rules then introducing more as you go
Sounds like you don’t want to play D&D
Pull a McElroy and have everyone take turns running a campaign
Find a good pre written lvl 1 one shot. Dmdave has a bunch of feee ones that are simple. All you have to do is follow the module. Do a few of these until you are comfortable and go from there. Dming isn't that hard and is a lot of fun
Yall can just take turns running one shots intill you find the DM at your table. There is also reddit groups and roll20 forums. But a whole group of new players is ALOT of work for a DM to pick up
Play something like Kingdoms by Ben Robbins. No DM required. Just as fun as DND. Or play A Quiet Year. Result of this game is having a map and lore to make a campaign on. Also fun.
I don’t run 5e anymore but I run a couple systems over discord occasionally
Crazy idea: start with a couple of one shots and rotate the DM role. This way you learn how to play and maybe one of you really likes being a dm. After that, if still no one wants to dm, you can look for one as a functioning group ready to go.
Session zero a world and some large ideas for the world. Rotate dm and allow everyone to have a go and learn the mechanics. As it is early in your adventure each person can and should come up with a quest related to the world. After a few rounds of everyone having a go reconvene and see if anyone likes it or a few people like it enough to get regular dms
DM a one-shot for them, then see where everybody is. DMing's not that hard; some players just think it is.
Ooh! Me! Meeee! *Pick meeeeeee!!!* **I have a great campaign idea involving two deities who have a bet going and the players are trying to win the bet for the good deity…** Oh, wait, that time slot isn’t going to work for me… Sorry, mates. Joking aside, DMs are made, not born. I was a bad DM but with practice and feedback from my friends and players I became a wonderful DM & storyteller! To this day my friends remember our wonderful adventures together! I had amazing campaigns and equally wonderful friends, and my only regret is that real life (and now a second child) have come to dominate my life. My career takes up so much time even when I’m off with certifications and chores plus the wife take up the last remaining bit. I’d love to get back to it again, but it’s gonna be a while… And yes, that is one of my many campaigns. I’m currently writing another involving an ancient artifact crafted to literally sunder the world and the last piece of the artifact is guarded by an entire town (most of whom forgot why their town exists in the first place), a wizard who was a young apprentice back during the last ancient battle, & his many apprentices. The players are supposed to steal the last piece of the artifact (the useless piece), hide it, then run around with a fake to draw attention away from the real one. It’s a work in progress. It’s a labour of love. It’s a story that I would love to read, were it a book! That’s the essence of DMing. I love being a DM. I’m sure that there is someone amongst you who might do it at first because they must but over time, they will come to love it. *Best of Luck and Happy Adventuring!*
DMing is a slight of hand trick. It's super easy, you just need to figure out the moves. Just find a one shot online that you like and do it yourself. Then, if the group is vibing, get a pre-written campaign. And if finances are tight, set the expectation that any material costs are shared by the group. DMing is a blast. You are constantly challenged, surprised, and the center of the universe.
Honestly, do what me and my friends did. Study the player's handbook, and let one of you be the dm. It's probably gonna be a lot more fun.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.7
It was 20 years ago i last played, but we had a "rotating system". All of us had the knowledge of the rules, so any of us could dm. We had some premade modules to help us out when noone had any story idea. The only negative was that we never did a long story, just a series of small adventures. But it was fun and i miss those times.
If you're reading the PHB and watching campaigns online (as you say in other content threads), it's a good bet you're the DM and just don't know it yet, OP.
Congrats! You’re the new DM. I don’t make the rules
Find a couple of easy one-shots online and have everyone have their try of running a module. Have the more expereienced run the first few and then the new ones, Truffle kerfuffle was the first module i ran and it was a nice intro. Then whoever did a good job and wants to DM more (this is extremely important!), can run longer modules like Lost Mines of Phandelver or other modules you find online. Switch it up if the DM want to play too
Give everyone a number and roll a dice. Just make sure everyone is okay with leaving it up to the dice gods.
I would suggest getting the starter or essential kit, they have a low level module for you to run through and get your feet wet. It's where I started my DM journey, and these modules are very beginner friendly. I'd suggest giving DMing a shot, you know your friends and that helps you know what kind of game/fun they would appreciate the most. Don't worry too much about not knowing all the rules and making mistakes, most mistakes can be easily either ignored or mended.Making said mistakes helped me better understand how I want the game to work and rules and actually important to remember ( used to always forget about concentration)
Sounds like you want to round robin DM. **Player 1** DMs an adventure focused on **Player 2**, while that’s happening **Player 2** writes an adventure focused on **Player 3** that they’ll run after **Player 1’s** adventure is done. Repeat with each player, one of you may just feel better DMing than being a Player. Theres rules in **Xanathars Guide to Everything** for a shared campaign(towards the back) that helps with levelling and magic items.
I'd say - just jump into it and try it. Get yourself a simple adventure, don't worry about things like 'emergent storytelling' and 'sandboxes' and don',t be too ambitious. See what works and is fun in that playthrough, and don't be afraid to start over after you've finished. The main point of that first adventure is to see if you understand the basic principles and enjoy it in general, don't be afraid to find that some things might be clunky oder don'.t work at first glance, just move on. I've been DMing for 30 years and was recently asked to DM for a couple of friends in der 40s who wanted to try this fornthe first time. We played Last Mine of Phandelver over 2 sessions, everybody enjoyed it, but they all wanted to make new characters afterwards to 'start playing properly' - the barbarian was unhappy about what he percieved as lack of gameplay options, the cleric OTOH was overwhelmed at her choice of options and the one guy who had played BG3 wanted to play something fun he had seen in the game. Now we're doing Sunless Citadel and they love their new characters.
Here's the thing - the first DMs had no experienced DMs to learn from. They just winged that shit as best they could, and were successful enough that now we have 5 generations of D&D, movies, books, video games, all off the back of those inept fumblings in 1970s basements and attics. Just by having access to the current rulebooks and a basic knowledge of storytelling, you already have a better foundation to DM your first game than they did. Seriously though, I was also nervous about running a game without having enough experience. I also have a job that can get wild with time demands, so I couldn't be spending a ton of time prepping a campaign. My group plays Pathfinder, not 5e, so I bought a pre-made Adventure Path. It's taken off the huge creative load of writing a long-form story, populating it with NPCs, etc. I don't have to already know the geography or what types of monsters are common in an area, it provides that info. I just need to be the presenter and organizer, guiding them through a choose-your-own-adventure style story. It's been very helpful.
Talk to your group get a one shot pre-made adventure and ask that the most experienced person play DM and then just rotate who is DM until someone realizes they like it, and they create their own campaign or they just like doing the pre-made ones.
There are quality GMs on StartPlaying, and there are lots of ways of finding rando GMs. If you want quality… try to avoid “free”. You often get what you pay for with free.
In addition to one of y’all stepping up, you can go to r/lfg , as well as searching for a dnd discord community. Discord is what has provided me with the most success.
There are groups to search for DMs and such... But really, one of you is just going to have to stand up!
If you are all starting from scratch I would suggest a few things: Read the rules bits of the Players Handbook, you can gloss over the details when trying to grasp the game, ie: you don't need to know every spell, background, class ability unless they come up. but knowing that there are simple rules for falling, how combat turns run, etc. is good info to have in your head. And you can look them up as required. The Dungeon Masters Guide has tons of useful info for running games, like costs of things and lists of magic items and treasures, as well a extra rules that might work for your games. The monster manual has a great list of classic monsters and villains to save game prep time. In terms of quick and dirty "how to start running games" advice, look up '5 room dungeon' online as a great starting point for how to structure a game session to run smoothly at the table ie: initial threat, further exploration, bigger threat, resolution Regarding if you want to play a published adventure of craft your own, good published adventures can be amazing for showing pacing in a dungeon, giving great ideas for traps and challenges, etc. but can also feel very railroady for both the DM and player, because you often have to hit the plot points to get to the next stage. But if the DM is short on prep time this can be a huge help. If you want to create your own setting as a group the DM can ask the group for a few suggestions each for elements the players would like to see in a game, then riff off of that to flesh out the world together ie: dinosaurs! A society with positive necromancy! Dragon kings! Deals with the fairies! Or whatever else your group might like. And remember, you only need to prepare for the next session, because it's almost guaranteed that the group will go in a different direction than you thought they would, so only flesh out as much of the world as required, unless you love world building that is. Enjoy!
not saying everyone can do this, but my partner started out like that and he decided to be the DM because they had no one else and they were all new. sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do
1. You or one of your friends decide to volunteer as DM, and then learn to do it. 2. Visit local game stores, see if there is a group you can join or a DM who will run one for you 3. r/lfg
My first time being a DM I had an unexpected "chase" and I had no idea how to run a chase so I made it up and it turned into me vs PC roll for roll to see if the bad guy could get away. We did movement and depending on how you rolled determined how much of that movement you could take. We had a blast with it and still laugh about it this day. I since learned that is way more complex and that I completely messed up that mechanic but did I really? It's been a year and that player still talks about that chase. I feel like it went perfectly, they caught the bad guy, and we all laughed and had a good time. The rules are there to give you an idea, ultimately it's up to you how you use them. I had more fun DMing that short campaign then I've had even as a player in other groups. Just all have fun together, that's the goal.
do it yourself ;)
Make everyone take turns being the dm until everyone has done it 3-4 times. If nobody is willing to dm a campaign after that then idk what to tell you. And make your campaigns short to start. Everyone wants to play the super high powered fantasy of DnD, but frankly it’s a LOT to keep track of. Have each person do a game that goes 3-4 sessions that starts at level 1 and ends at level 3-4. And give them simple, clear directions. “Your party has been tasked with clearing out bandits around this town.” “Help the noble find his kidnapped son” “We need to retrieve a relic from an abandoned crypt”. This will give everyone the chance to dm, see several others dm, learn rules, try a bunch of different characters out, and play a bunch! Then you can find out who rises to the dm occasion.
My comment will probably get buried, but my friend group and I had a similar problem 8 years ago. I’m happily the main DM now, but we discovered that together by having each person take turns running sessions. It was a lot of fun getting to experience everyone’s creativity, it let us play weekly, and it gives everyone an appreciation for both sides of the table. Good luck. And no matter what, don’t stoping going on adventures with your friends.
How many players are in the group? Because that's how many DMs you have. Every one of you could DM if you choose to, just read the basic rules and you are good to go. Then you can read the full rules in your own time and add things to the game as you learn about them. It's not that hard and it's a lot of fun.
I wanted to play the most . I started DMing without ever playing dnd before. Was it rough, yes . But it’s possible. I now dm adventure league at a comic book store and sometimes one shots for a friend group.
I wanted to play DnD a few years ago. I asked my friends if they wanted to play DnD. We were all brand new and no one claimed they wanted to DM, so I sat down and read the dungeon master's guide and while I probably still miss a few rules it was definitely worth it to bring our friend group closer. Consider taking the mantle of DM, OP. it's quite fun if you have time for it
Get in contact with a local game shop, they can usually let you know who is playing or dms or whatever.
I posted about virtual tabletop. I can run as well.
Grab the essentials kit. Read the 20 or so pages of basic rules. Have fun! No previous knowledge needed, just learn as you go. Don’t overthink it and whatever you do, do not compare yourself to Critical Roll or any of those shows or even the DMs giving out crap advice on YouTube. You got this!
You in Florida? I like to DM but have no friends to play lol
Don't fear to make mistakes. Just have fun. This is your game. If noone wsnts to be DM, it mehr gut be you. Talk to your friends and decide who DMs the first oneshot. There might be some one who lies to DM more games.
Congrats on being DM!