10 Steps to Prepare Your First D&D Game

Is it not the quintessential fear of most new dungeon masters to crash and burn at their very first Dungeons & Dragons game? The worry that players won't like the game. That the new DM will screw something up horribly. There are steps new dungeon masters can take to ensure their first D&D games don't blow up in their faces. In this video, I discuss ten steps new dungeon masters can take to prepare for their first D&D game so it doesn't all go horribly wrong (or at least hopefully won't).

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Editing ▶▶ Zack Newman
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Music and Sound Effects ▶▶ Epidemic Sound

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#dnd #dungeonsanddragons

[hermanfrancis]

I've been dming my friends for 2 years and one of them has decided to dm the next campaign. Bless his pure little heart

[Balin]

I’ve been playing since 1982, and 98% of the time as DM, and I still feel panicked before the game.

[pdubb]

Regarding #10 Panic (Don't Panic) My group has surprised me more than once when I sheepishly said "I'm not well-prepared, maybe we should cancel". They recognized the need to maintain momentum. With a great deal of understanding, they said things like "well maybe we can just do some social encounters -- I've got to to get a bunch of spell components" or "well maybe just run us through some random monster encounter." Little did I know that the component shop owner would turn out to be a beloved NPC, or that the random encounter I made on the spot would turn the campaign in a different direction for the next two months.

[omegaRST]

I have seen a ton of DMing guides but this one is my favorite, I think you really emphasize how to NOT over prepare, which is one of the main problems I was running into: prioritizing

[StudMuffin]

One thing I’ve found is that, concerning prepping the location, the more I prep beyond the bare necessities, the less flexible I am when presented with the goals the party has. Don’t be too much of a stickler! Be flexible and allow the players to change the world they’re in no matter how big or small without breaking the game!

[robertpopa]

Reading the entire module is old school, back when the modules were $10 to $15 paperbacks with 70 some pages and 6 or so linked adventures each of which were writen to last a 4 hour session or two. So, using the old rule and adjusting it, be very familiar with what will be covered during one or two sessions.

[skaterkidguy]

I'm prepping my first session as DM and I'm almost ready to start. The advice I never considered was the "what do you want to do next time" and that's such a helpful tip. Thank you!

[Draakhart_]

Some timestamps for those who refer to this video in the future again and some notes of my own.

1 Prepare the setting 00:33
Single page or two of references is SUCH a help, to keep track of stuff like factions and districts. This would probably be my top priority too as even a 'derailed' session is informed by the context it happens in and can help improvise.


2 Prepare the Adventure 01:36
2.1 Don't worry about reading the whole module 03:35
Completely agree, don't pile too much at once. Take notes of the general motions and directions you are nudging towards but no person can have it all in their mind and run with it. Highlight/take note of crucial details.


3 Preparing NPCs 06:17
This is such an easy time sinkhole. I tend to make 'tables' for random NPCs so I can roll 3-5 dice and know what they are about in broad strokes, or have some prebuilt ones ready to be dropped anywhere. Caution with the latter, as it can be too tempting, keep it until you need it.

My tables include stuff like Race, Gender, Profession, Goals/Aims, Affiliations and so on. Some of those will change depending on the locality.


4 Prep the Encounters 09:10
I particularly like the 'Dramatic Question' as something to be put into session prep. It's less "will the party prevail" and more "how will they tackle this?" so you might end up being more open about resolutions.


5 Prep the monsters 10:32
FANTASTIC example of prepared tactics right at the beginning. I like to do something similar with my guards: they usually have 'roles' like a party might though their capabilities depend on the background. In Eberron, Aundarian guards might have access to spells.


6 Prep Players 12:53


7 Prep the PCs 14:32


I like to skim on this front so players can surprise me. I read character stuff extensively so I usually know if something smells off, but I don't want to know necessarily everything the PCs can do. Catering adventures to them is okay sometimes but the world at large would probably not adapt to the party getting/losing a druid. Thus, I usually end up playing by in-world logic as to how antagonists and such would be prepared.


8 Prep DM tools 15:48
Just adding Xanathar's and Tasha's to that list, they have wonderful things to pull even if you don't use it all.


9 Prep the session 17:21
Personal shoutout to the LazyDM on this front, it's helped me loads to trim down time spent and have some structure - I have a standard document by this point that helps me guide my efforts.


10 Relatable feeling 19:19

[Beth-cjip]

Had an adventure on a ship once. Presumed they'd go deck by deck. They split the party with half coming up from the hold and half starting on the main deck. They aggroed the entire ship, which was otherwise going to be several encounters

[mayvelimercedesfernandezar]

I'm currently playing D&D for the first time ever with a group of other girls and I'm also considering trying to DM sooner than later so I find these videos are really amazing.

[dahelmang]

If it's your first time maybe run a shorter module, levels 1-5 for example. Then you can read through the whole module easily. If you skim through the important sections it won't take long. Then read the sections you need each week.

[Boehr]

Coming into dming to give my dm a break, between u and some of these other great YouTubers, I appreciate you and all the good advice give!

[willmena]

Luke, congrats on the 100k subscribers!!! I don't know if that's recent, but it's the first time I notice it. Thanks for all the great work you do :D

[KameronwithaK]

This video is AWESOME! I’m DM’ing for the first time soon and this is unbelievably helpful. I’m becoming less overwhelmed with every second of this video haha thank you so much!

[omnimorrow]

On the note of NPCs and players not interacting with them very much a very long when you give them a backstory. I had an NPC that the players were meant to interact with, she was meant to be their guide through this new land when the players decided that they didn't want her following them around because they thought she would be useless or get in the way I had that same NPC start hunting them down in order to kill the party

[KuittheGeek]

I will occasionally use a voice recorder on my way to work to talk through an adventure and practice NPC voices and backstory. I don't seem as crazy that way, I just look like I am on my phone hands free. ;) Haha, but seriously, it does help give me a feel for the characters that I expect to use. I only do it for a few that will be in the session, but I do feel it helps me be more prepared, and if anything it gives me some practice for when things hit the fan and I need to improvise.

[adenedhel]

I tried DMing for the first time in 2021 and it ended after only 5 sessions because we ended up moving for a job. but i am going to start a campaign in December of this year (the same one i tried to run last time and didnt get to finish) using discord and owlbear rodeo! im super excited about it... its a fully homebrew world with rich history, political intrigue, a kingdom on the verge of war, and dragons influencing global events. I'm super proud of the world i created im just hoping i can portray it well and make it enjoyable and immersive for my players.

I've hand crafted dozens of maps (including full city maps that are 500x500 squares), hand crafted dozens of characters, and im incorporating my player characters backstories into the world in an organic way (even changing 1 world event to better suit the events of the background of one of the PCs). I learned from the 5 sessions i DMd last time not to fall too in love with the characters, events, and places i crafted since my characters may never visit/meet them or may kill and destroy them haha

I've been working on this world since 2019... Super excited to see the story get fleshed out and unfold. Thanks for your videos... they've been super helpful in so many ways

[hirluth]

Aaaah, the very next day after my first session as a DM. Thanks Luc (I hope you write it like that, I'm not from an English speaking country) for all the advices from all your videos ! It helped me a lot. I didn't crashed in flammes, fortunately! I adapted my campaign from old Dnd 2e Lankhmar book, and it was great, I made a session zero, and then we played 2 hours, i just misjudged what i had planned, so we did not finished... At all ! But it's ok, they loved the encounter with the thieve guild's i prepared them

[SulliverVittles]

I am DMing my first game since 2008 tomorrow and this has been very helpful. Thank you!

[greatauntlizbethg]

I didn't even get up to panic and cancel. I bought a module, felt the anxiety rise and decided I had enough on my plate to not add something else to worry about. Shelved until I get about 4 - 7 stresses resolved. But I still watch you and others and learn. I hadn't really understood planning the session as opposed to all the other prep Stuff which I've picked up, mostly from you