as a person who has only played and made an attempt in high school to run things I was not good. Over the years of reading and playing regularly I gathered the courage to run a few adventures from the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set for the group I am currently in. It was fun and I wanted to do it some more. Since we were also playing D&D 5e I threw together a couple simple one shots for the group and got to run them as well. I made mistakes and forgot rules but the group enjoyed all my attempts and now I plan on putting them through some Fallout 2d20 rpg when I get the chance. It's a fun hobby.

Thank you for the Help

Thanks dude! DM-ing my first game

so what skills u need to be a gm ive played several mmo's wow,swtor,lotro,neverwinter,9dragons,gw2

This is really good subbed.

This helped me a whole lot

Great video dude. Im struggling with the rogue on dnd 5e and this was helpful. Thanks

I like that you talk about thiefs in general, when you look up videos like this most of them talk about the Thief Rogue in DnD, and while I'm gonna play a thief in Dnd, my character is not a Rogue class but a Wizard, so I'm just researching the RP aspect rather than the mechanics, which I already know.

Question for experienced GMs. I'm about to run a detective-themed RPG at the table. Does anybody know the best way to handle scenes where only certain players are privy to certain information, e.g if player detectives are at different locations or receive a line of detail that is for their knowledge only. Any ideas how to deliver such a mevhanic so that the player gets the decision as to how much to share of what they know wiith the other players at the table?

session zero is super important , if the evil character will be poorly received by other players then this is the best time to ask . before you get super invested in your super edgy lizardman barbarian child killing cannibal , you need to know if this will upset other members of the group.

Very interesting

Nice list .

Red black spiders are related black widows An as for who gets the XP . It's ether both or the person that acted against the spider ( you ) .

i played with my current group for a couple years before even suggesting that i wanted to play an asshole character. for the rest of my comment, i will be drawing from a recent session where my dwarf interrogated a captured durugar. I can DEFINITELY agree with the voice thing, it makes trash talking PCs super clear that im trashtalking that PC and not the player. for the counter behavior mentioned about being nice to the players, 100% agree there too: sometimes when being an asshole, i will make a nod to another player out of character (like interrogating an enemy i referenced something another player said a few weeks prior about his job in sales and pointed it out "what were you doing in MY tunnels?") the player caught it and we had a good laugh. I pulled a few interrogation tricks i learned from another player from a previous campaign, and he even complimented, saying the interrogation was on point as i was healing the guy as i was dealing dame to not kill him). for the feedback part: ONE HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE! we set the expectations on what is ok and what is not in our group. we actually listed out what is off limits as players and as DMs. these are a lot of GREAT tips for players with somewhat newer groups.

02:24 That's my problem. As a player I just want to play my character the way I think the toon would act in that situation. What your suggesting is hand holding and being a sort of guardian angel. That's not what I usually looking to do when I play DND unless I'm playing some kind of support class with lawful good alignment. Playing with overly shy people I think is a dnd group mismatch and sign of personality incompatibility.

Or steal their gold then get their attention and toss it back to them. With a line of, "hey paladin catch," tossing their money to them. "Don't keep all your money in one place, because if I can swipe it in broad daylight, then so can the other thieves, and I'm not always gonna be able to watch your back."

Been the perma GM for the last 3 years. My biggest advice for any GM is always take 5 sec of silence before deciding anything off script. I literally count 12345 in my head. This gives opportunity for players to take action and talk and maybe the issue will unravel itself. If bot, then atleast you have taken a second to think it through and not totally derail your own game with a last mi ute decision. Being quiet is your friend.

Excellent tips! Rogues have always been one of my favourite classes because of all this. A lot of players I’ve played with see rogues simply as: assassins, lock pickers and trap disarmers, the archer of the group, or the gambler. But it goes deeper than that. The most fun, in my mind, is playing the enterprising, opportunistic, sneaky bastard who advances the party’s goals through out-of-the-box means that the other characters would never consider or attempt. Thanks and keep up the good work!

Unable to find this spell book pdf.

Thank you so much ! About to try teaching languages through RPG... I'm terrified 🤣🤣

The slight interest I have of playing D&D stems from the idea of just being an asshole to everyone I feel like it'd be a real laugh

Okay, ut if someone made a 27th-level paladin for a level 1 campaign, aren't they cheating? There's a difference between taking away all creatovity by rolling the characters yourself and just letting all your players go hog wild. I'm just trying to do a simple one-shot so my forever GM gets a break and so I can start getting some experience running games.

Being a Game Master is so rewarding! I feel like the more you practice and go for it, the more fun it becomes. Thanks for all your great tips and inviting new people to this great hobby!

Thanks for these basic tips. I will be playing for the first time in a couple of weeks. Trying not to embarrass myself LOL

My first few dm sessions, I was very much overwhelmed by everything: question, keeping track of initiative and stats and keeping my party from just wandering off. Everyone said they had fun but me as a DM was horribly stressed and I had to tell everyone 'sorry I can't do this anymore' after three sessions. It has been a few years and I am going to try again, but this time I am playing online with a module and Roll20. I think this will be the perfect fit for me since the program keeps track of all the busy stuff and stats and you can drag and drop monsters and everything is at your fingertips. How much damage did that spell do? Did it hit? Attach damage with advantages? All figured out for me. Most importantly, I am not going to stress myself out by following the book to the letter, instead I'm going to have it simply as a guide and homebrew a bit into it. My JR-PRO TIP is that it is a life saver to have your 'Forever DM' at the table, playing a PC. Not only do they get to actually play as a PC for once, but if someone asks you a strange question that you may not know the answer to as a new DM, they will usually step up and help you out with that as the wise masters sitting at the table. :)

It is pointless to ask ''why'' after each question.

One very underrated tip: dont run the game when you're tired. Make sure you're well rested before a session. As a DM you're doing a lot of things at once. You're running the campaign on both a macro and micro level, you're keeping track of stats and your own notes. You're interacting and roleplaying with the players. You have to make sure they each get their say in and have fun. You have to immerse yourself into the npc's and the monsters, you have to keep track of their stats and what they would do in combat/rp. DMing is a lot of work, its multi-tasking and it can be stressfull. Its very fun but when you're tired you can't do those things properly. That turns the game into a slog for both you and the players. Make sure you sleep well the night before, if you're running sessions that are longer than you can handle, plan breaks in before hand and during those breaks go be alone for a little bit. Really rest, don't go over your notes because thats work too, dont talk to your players if you can because they'll nine times out of ten want to discuss the game and thats work too.

Lighting Bolt is Emperor Fingers

Who is your worst Enemy ? - Great point

Being a fairly experienced gm I have seen people not give the game a chance because the character creation took so long. Having pre-generated characters is a great idea. being able to play at a session 0 would really have helped in those times. I am definitely going to do that when introducing a new player to the game! Great video.

@2:00 - yes, develop your NPC's ( non playing characters - that have issues.) Introduce them early !

... in Fleshing out a Character during 'Gameplay'... and it's your FIRST TIME using that player with character = Find out if THAT PLAYER is willing to stay determined to finish a few rounds, in spite of the SCRIPT turning into a mess. (( You've already made folks sign for WHAT COMES MAY --- so yes, The Tennis ball goes back into the Game Masters' Court.)) I would expect the GM to at least give a small test, such as ASSISTING another FICTIONAL cast member... while someone has to be away on a Toilet Break.

( ever take those 'Post-it' note questions in an Index card format, pen and paper form.) just get each player to write 5-THINGS, so it will be easier, and LESS STRESS during gameplay. Seen a GM try to remember their SCRIPT PLAY with eight visiting folks on some strange GAME HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE on a local comicbook store. === Ever seem someone 'shake' or 'whither' as if having a meltdown, in order to keep up with a fast pace and cast of characters ?!?

Hello, we haven't met - other than seeing a youtube channel. ( Thought I could help : Once Upon A Time, the Card Deck from Atlas Games. // not from Disney.) kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6fFcmp4oJtgpqs

Great video, informative and inspiring to an aspiring GM / DM. Thanks for the tips, I'm sure I'll be referencing this video again.

Thank you and well said. Over the years, expectations of decorum were eroded until "anything goes or you are a prude" was the rule of the day. Now in the MeToo era, that is boomeranging around and hitting people in the back of the head. The best way to avoid a problem is to tone it down and keep it light. I don't want to play with Murder Hobos, and I don't want my games turned into Tumbler Fan Fiction.

I know you made this video back in 2017 but I'm having some trouble that maybe you can clarify for me. I'm a first time storyteller/GM, I'm about to start running a WoD game, specifically Vampire The Masquerade 2nd edition with around 4 to 5 players. I have been a player before so I understand the mechanics already. My issue is I don't know what the physical step by step would be to plan a campaign. I can't find anything about it online. Most just give tips on what not to do but never really the outline of "Do this first, then this, then this, etc."

I have heard of "Christmas Tree" characters. What decoration item to put in the glove slot? Head slot? Torso slot?

Careful... If your (You as GM) players show up with snacks and soft drinks. (Like they would in a Cinema or Theatre.) That may be a sign of that you are a "Theatre GM" or "TV set GM" - You deliver a show with no need for interaction from the PCs... Actually you despise if the PCs try something, as it distract you from your story!

*Thanks for explaining EARLY ON, to pre-generate one's 'player characters' for a starter game.*

Great video man, Im from Brazil and Im producing a podcast about how to make better characters for D&D. Actualy I was without good ideas for the fighter class, but you help me a lot. Thank you very much for this amazing content.

How can you go out on an expedition without a replacement set of zither strings??

thanks... ill try my best

I'm trying to learn how to GM, I'm super interested in Tales from the Loop but nobody in my group is as interested so I can't ask them to GM but they'd be happy to play a one-off at least. How do you apply your tips for more story-themed games like Tales...? (meaning: I'm a *TERRIBAD* improviser)

I've never played a single tabletop rpg before, and neither have my wife and brother-in-law. I've watched tons of videos on the matter, but actually doing it is something entirely different. We are halfway through the first dungeon of the pathfinder beginner box, and are thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

Some of the best advice in a condensed form. First time GM's should use this as a primer.

I try to be a sandbox DM. I have a list of directions the party can choose from. However, I "age" any problem that the party ignores. Ignore the bandits raiding caravans and pretty soon the economy of the area suffers. There are shortages of certain products. Some of these can be serious. Also, nobody wants to cart the products of the local area out in caravans f they are expecting to be killed for trying.

Never allow someone to pull out a character more than 2 levels advanced from the rest of the party. Some idiot wants to put their 27th level into your 1st level game... kick them out the door and tell them to never come back. If they are that experienced... maybe they need to be the DM of their own campaign. Actually, I have played fr over 30 years and NEVER seen a legitimate level 1 startup character get to level 20 except by "Monty Haul" DM handing out levels that were not really earned. I ran a very active campaign with players that were extremely experienced for 3.5 years and in that time they made it to level 12. It takes a LONG time to kill enough stuff to make levels after level 8.

Misogyny? Are you fucking kidding me? People actually rated this #1... Sorry, but calling bullshit. Please tell me where the fuck you play, so I that can stay far, FAR away from that toxic shithole.

Thinking about Halloween 1981 in Jon Leyland's game that we called D&D but he did not come close to using rules as written. He was a great GM.