Your First Session | Running the Game

Episode 2: Playing for the first time can be awkward. So let's meet in an inn! Classic opening.
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The Green Dragon Inn; People & a Menu!
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The Bounty Poster!
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Map of the Tomb and Notes
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#RunningTheGame #MattColville #MCDM

[@NickGarvey]

"Hello. I uh, I mean.. my character Gork says.. hello" amazing.

[@Notashortmidget]

*when comment had 393 like but no comments*

[@angelalewis3645]

😂 It’s up to 561 likes now.

[@CrshDmmy]

@@angelalewis3645now it’s 758

[@boabplz4107]

@@angelalewis3645 780

[@DefenderofFaith97]

All the advice I receive from DM's , Plagiarize, Compromise and Improvise

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Maybe we can make an acronym out of that: "P.I.C.K. your battles" - Plagiarize, Improvise, Compromise, and Keep the game moving."

[@MrBrambo98]

@@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself i like that!

[@xMRxZEROx]

@@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself "P.I.C.K. your battles... PLAGIARIZE your battles, IMPROVISE your battles, COMPROMISE in your battles, KNOW your battles..." Sounds better. 🤟🏻😂

[@rolandkushm.d.710]

K should be Know your players

[@Xenibalt]

TAKE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM AND EMPOWER YOURSELVES!!!!!! WWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mattsteinberg2083]

"its complex but there is pizza involved in there somewhere" laughed so hard my co workers thought I was crazy.

[@Quadeyes]

I was going to write the same thing, but will support your statement instead.

[@FordPrefict42]

We all play D&D, and therefore are, at least, a little crazy. Own it! It's ok.

[@Evilstealer404]

Indeed, laughed so hard... Just hilarious!

[@JustThisGuy42]

Can confirm humor

[@thewishingpig]

The word pizza isn’t a punchline

[@QuinnyCheeks]

I had been trying to run games for years I've read and read materials ran a few lackluster games and then gave up thinking I sucked at it . I stumbled upon this series on KZbin and it got me excited , these videos reinvented me as a game master and now I've written and ran my first successful FUN game that everyone has enjoyed .I came back to the first episode I ever saw to thank you for helping me I can't wait to continue my adventure with all I learned .

[@mcolville]

+Mary Meissinger Yay!

[@QuantumYnoodles]

Id play with you if I could

[@keizeradrianus703]

I know you made this comment three years ago, but do you mind telling us what you did wrong? I think that I and many others can learn from those mistakes :]

[@petrichor439]

@@keizeradrianus703 I'm not OP, but I feel that many new DMs might try to make stories too linear. These videos help give people ideas about how to make the worlds feel more immersive/organic and give players more opportunities go "off-script" from what the DM might have had planned. (Or rather, prepares DMs to be ready for players to attempt almost anything and to go with it)

[@sombresanctum]

My first game night as a DM. Players meet in an inn, then some dudes start a fight. What I had in mind was that the players were eager to start killing people or at the very least have a brawl, then the guards would show up and imprison them to start the storyline. Nope. Two ran away and stole some horses, and the last one, a hippie paladin, stood his ground, convinced the bad guys that friendship and love is more powerful than hate, cried together, then got shitfaced on ale, paladin got a tattoo and he's now in a bandit gang turned hippie cult.

[@Xenibalt]

LOLWUT your paladin player is the greatest

[@Ryan98391]

When the blacksmith burst through the door I immediately imagined Beth being his prized dairy cow.

[@emilthorngenibsen1156]

So did I my friend, so did I...

[@matthewjames7504]

"They got my girl"

[@beenoc]

There's your funny plot twist, it is his cow. He never explicitly states it's his daughter, it's just "his girl" that he loves and cares for very much.

[@edcellwarrior]

Ryan Williams Do blacksmiths usually keep dairy cows

[@ddickson1167]

😀

[@PackRatTheArtist]

Gotta say, I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to hear that a veteran DM still gets nervous to start a campaign. Lots of good advice! :)

[@SomeJustice19k]

PackRatTheArtist I ran my first game over the Xmas weekend. I'm married and a combat veteran, but starting my first DnD game as a DM was the most nervous I can ever remember being.

[@elgatochurro]

well i dont feel nervous anymore. then again ive had a self confidence class, public speaking.

[@Madhattersinjeans]

@@SomeJustice19k Just wait until a player does something totally unexpected that you hadn't accounted for and goes way off track. That will get your heart rate going. There's a few ways you can deal with this beyond just the obvious "no stop that". They encounter an enemy that is clearly too strong for them. They come across a huge ravine/mountains as a natural border. An NPC runs up and begs them to get back on track.

[@alexchomp]

I gotta say it. His hair is mesmerizing. I've been watching it flop around for half an hour now. I have a Dnd session tomorrow. I'm okay.

[@angelalewis3645]

😂

[@karlmeszaros4323]

20 odd years ago, I use to DM all the time. In fact, I don't think I've ever played a module all the way through as a player. Two decades later, I'm teaching my wife and 3 kids how to play. You've been a great help knocking the dust off of my brain. Thanks for all your work.

[@MAJ0ROCEL0T]

Man having your family in on DnD sounds like so much fun

[@dylanenriguehuntington2908]

"Let's wait and watch the goblin hideout to see what's up" Said no new player ever

[@Xenibalt]

LOL let's rush the front door! they captured a girl after all! is more likely :3

[@Fishyninjabreadman]

D&D....It's complex but pizza is in there somewhere! That needs to be shirt.

[@noahbasara8529]

I just found you and am embarking on being a DM as I’m the only one in my group brave enough and curious enough. Just so you know, 5 years later, this is still helping people. Thank you.

[@Dalinair]

Brilliant, loved "most of your job is asking players, what do you do" If i had 1gp for everytime I have said what do you do, I would be rich.

[@DLSacks]

Last Saturday I hung out with my brother-in-law (both early 40s), and started talking about D&D. He had "played" one game with his sons (14 & 11) a year or so ago where he made everything up on the fly.. I mean everything. He couldn't get into reading the rules or the adventure (LMoP) from the starter set so they spent some time basically playing pretend with the cool minatures they had painted. I had never played before, but was interested in it for my son (10) to spark and challenge his creativity. So I said, ~let's play next Sunday after mother's day brunch. I'll read the rules and adventure and be the Dungeon Master.~ So this past week I have basically been cramming for this, and I've probably watched about a dozen of your videos in this series. Your joy and approach is just excellent, and I'm so glad I happened to watch the fudging die rolls video. That combined with a lot of your other videos gave me permission to just try and tell a good story for my first session without spending (more time than I did) flipping through the rulebook to figure out exactly how to resolve every last action. So yesterday my four players (45, 14, 11, & 10) got handed their character sheets at a mothers day brunch, and a few hours later my characters introduced themselves to each other and were ambling along with the cart of goods bound for Gundren Rockseer in Phandalin. I had heard this first Goblin Ambush sometimes led to TPK, and I tried to prepare myself for how it would go. And my players had fun! And I had fun being surprised by them! Some highlights from the first battle: 1) The two ranged goblins won their stealth roll and each shot arrows at the two characters visible on the top of the cart. The elf wizard barely dodged the arrow with a saving throw, but the dwarf cleric took 5 damage before he knew what was happening. ONLY THEN did I have the players roll initiative. And the Dwarf and Elf were the first two to act. They both used spells (Guiding Bolt & Magic Missile), and both rolled incredibly well. Everyone laughing at my graphic descriptions of the first two goblins exploding into a million pieces, and feeling good for immediately extracting revenge for the 5 damage. 2) My ranged fighter (14yo) who had been leading the cart and examined the horses was surrounded (but not surprised) by the two melee goblins. He launched into a great plan of action where he climbed up on the cart to get a great vantage point and took his time to aim. I decided it would be fun to introduce advantage/disadvantage, and told him because he had such great line of sight he had advantage on his attack roll. The two 20-sided die were rolled perfectly into the middle of the table for everyone to see.. both 1s. 1/400 chance. I tell him that just as he's notching the arrow, his bow string snaps and he pulls a muscle in his shoulder, suffering 1hp of damage. Everyone at the table is laughing. I'll add that I had decided not to mess with opportunity attacks for this first battle (for both sides), and as the battle went on, it was probably the only thing that saved my ranged fighter from dying. 3) Lots of missed attacks by both sides, but a few more hits from the goblins that put my ranged fighter at 1hp and forced my dwarven cleric to use his last spell slot to heal himself. Meanwhile my rogue (my own son) surprised me with a great description of a sneak attack (a halfling, he had dropped low and rolled under the cart at the first sign of danger to prepare), but he rolled a 3. I described how he stabbed the goblin in the back as hard as he could, but clanged against a metal plate under the leather. We joked how the goblin was almost vibrating from the hit, but it didn't do any damage. But it suddenly gave me a reason for that goblin to disengage from the ranged fighter (remember no opportunity attacks for either side) and go after the rogue who had surprised and angered him with his (failed) sneak attack. 4) Everyone got appropriately excited when the last goblin disengaged and started making a break for it down the goblin trail. My rogue misses with his bow, but the dwarf happened to be close enough to get within range and throw an axe into his back. I was thinking I might have a goblin fall unconscious at 1hp to give the players a chance to interrogate one, but while their attack rolls varied a ton they always rolled insane damage so no goblins remained to talk. 5) The players seemed wary of detailing too much of their personal backgrounds with each other so earlier they had all sort of said, "yeah, we're here for the money." And they convinced themselves they wouldn't get paid in Phandalin unless they went down the goblin trail to look for Rockseer and Hallwinter (even though the adventure has them getting paid by someone else at the trading post, and a lot of this past week was preparing for them to skip straight to Phandalin). But I went around the table and asked people to say their piece. When it got to my 14-yo nephew, the ranged fighter at 1hp, he flops on the table, and starts gasping "heeeellllp meeeee." My rogue son says we should leave him in the cart of goods to die while the rest of them go get their gold from these dang goblins. But everyone's in agreement to go down the goblin trail before heading to Phandalin, so I wrap the story there, promising them I'll explain about resting/healing/spell recovery in the next session. A ton of improvisation behind and in-front of the screen (and maybe a fudged damage die to keep my nephew from going unconscious), and everyone is hooked and looking forward to playing more. As they (and I) learn the rules better the battles will get harder and more strategic.

[@boringstory2849]

I used the goblin dungeon in my first ever campaign, my friends loved it. Thanks Matt

[@trustudy6083]

Boring Story aye same

[@josephmort4039]

Same. This is the adventure I’ve used to teach numerous people how to play.

[@dm_guru2408]

I've been playing D&D for over 10 years and have DMd and played. I say this because these videos are the most succinct and entertaining videos to teach D&D and I'm loving watching them all despite my experience. Well done and thank you :D

[@DanDare2050]

I was going to write that same comment. I have been playing since 1974 white box OD&D. This video is fantastic to get players started. The base is cool, the humour light, and its clear. I just draw on graph paper and these days my dungeons end up more schematics than actual plans but this is where you start to learn the craft. Well done!

[@mrburger]

I love your D&D history lessons. And your obvious familiarity with DMing. And your golden, golden voice.

[@zarindrake]

6 years later this video is still helping first timers! Thank you!

[@itsjkforreal]

"They've seen the movie, but they haven't played it." So good.

[@Witchgirl44]

I used this dungeon for my friends with some tweeks for my d&d world, it worked very well

[@mcolville]

Yay! The system works!

[@maxcrss2845]

Grim reaper you have to give them a choice though. The players may not want to help the dragon, seeing as he's destroying society.

[@chrish5786]

Grim reaper so skyrim? (jokingly of course)

[@Linaxtic]

-watching this while frantically finishing up everything for my first campaign-

[@Tashiea]

How did the campaign go?

[@billmarcellino2276]

Matt, I've been DM'ing for over 30 years, and I still learned from this. Really great job of unpacking not just WHAT we do, but WHY.

[@raypeene2683]

Hahaha...I keep coming back to this just for the "Gork says hello" moment. Gold 😂😂😂

[@blackmagick77]

It would be much easier to DM having that silky movie trailer voice XD

[@JaySharp604]

My thought exactly!

[@stitchthealchemist1520]

blackmagick77 a bit late, but I can say with experience that you just develop voices and cadence over time

[@blackmagick77]

Nice! I would think it would be more immersive with multiple voices instead of every npc sounding alike XD

[@maxcrss2845]

blackmagick77 it just takes practice. I just talk to myself a running commentary whenever I'm alone using different voices.

[@blackmagick77]

Ive been practicing in the shower XD

[@theguitarchick777]

Thank you so much for these video, you won't even know how much I needed to hear them. I'm about to start my very first campaign. Excited but nervous. Earlier this evening I read an article about running your first game. The points all made a ridiculous amount of sense, except every single thing the article said to NOT do was something I was doing in my campaign, (don't write your own campaign, don't let people make their own characters, and on and on) and it made it pretty clear why your campaign would be a total failure if you did. The article was very acerbic, which I don't usually mind (and actually find funny), but this particular one sent me into a bit of a tailspin. My excited nervousness turned into horrible, pit in my stomach, don't-know-if-I-even-want-to-do-this-anymore nervousness. I started wondering if I should throw out the hours of work I (and my players) had put into this, and just go get a pre-made starter kit with pre-generated characters. Long, weird, rambling story short, I couldn't sleep, was making myself sick, and hopped on twitter, randomly found a link to your first video. I feel much better now, much calmer, and I'm ready to be excited about this campaign again. ("I don't have to be an amazing DM right off the bat, it's a learning curve that the new players will experience with me." I actually already knew this, had told myself before, but I needed to hear it from someone else.)

[@mcolville]

+Pianochic90 You just gotta start! Doing it is not as hard as being about to do it. :D After your first game, there will be lots of stuff you think "Damn I could have done that better." Of course! You're just getting started! But cool, memorable stuff will happen to. Don't be afraid of your mistakes, because your screw-ups are the things you need to do, to learn.

[@theguitarchick777]

+Matthew Colville Thanks for the reply! I'm looking forward to the rest of your videos. :)

[@cameronlatif9997]

L

[@user-hs8mu9ms1t]

Starting my first game as a DM tonight with my gf. You've helped me out a ton. Wish us luck! Thanks again

[@angelc.5602]

How'd it go? :D

[@irosencrantz882]

Derek Nowicki... let us know!😃😆😛

[@historywatcher9721]

Also curious...

[@jjbb84x]

Derek Nowicki Still waiting...

[@joelrichardson5139]

Now I’m curious. Was it that bad?

[@rudiswijsen3799]

I have just finished my first session as a DM ever, with a group of players new to DnD (and in a few cases, to roleplaying in general). It was hard to determine if they were more nervous than me. But thanks to the tips and pointers in your videos, I managed to ensure everybody had a great time and create some very memorable moments for the party, right of the bat. They were begging me to immediately set up a date for the next session. So I would like to say a most profound thank you for making this channel. Keep up the good work!

[@Jacob-Day]

Stumbled upon this and realised that I'd had this adventure run by the DM for a party I'm in at 1st level :P Small world...

[@radoslavakov4693]

Coming back to these after starting to DM 6 years ago and linking this playlist to a few of my would-be-DM players. I'm proud to say I've adapted much of this series but also learned a bunch on my own. Thanks for kicking off my dnd experience.

[@Deityoftime]

I've been STRUGGLING so hard about how to get my campaign off its feet, my group is doing its second session with me as the DM and your videos are SO SO SO helpful, PLEASE keep doing them. I'm binge watching them, rewinding them, watching and rewatching, these are going to be my new bible, and as you say, I'm going to be stealing A LOT of stuff from you. Thank you SO MUCH.

[@1jack94]

I have been playin D&D for 6 years now. It all started with this video. Thanks you.

[@NemoNautilusEra]

DnD: It's complex but I'm sure there is pizza somewhere in there. Well isn't that the best selling point ever.

[@bowsercss99]

Hey Matt, just wanted to say that you explain incredibly well and you are very easy to listen to. Great job on the Videos and thank you!

[@mcolville]

Thanks for watching!

[@bowsercss99]

I wtahced this as a prep to my first rpg session ever. I know, your vids are about being a DM but you really gave me confidence that I can do it. It was great and now I am really hooked on the gaming concept. Joined another group for a pathfinder campaign and we are planning to do Trudvang next year when released. Thank you for the great insight!

[@bobbafettjab]

I keep coming back to your videos, even after many years as a DM. Nice t-shirt, btw :D

[@HollywoodHuntsman]

Hilariously, I was nominated as DM for a first playing group. I commend you on giving me all of the tools to use, and I actually tried to use this same jumping off point. Surprisingly, they let the blacksmith AND the old man walk out of the tavern to fight the goblins by themselves. Then, I, as the tavern owner, tried to kick them out and say there weren't any open rooms in the inn. They were able to talk him into staying. Needless to say, I had to improv the entire session. And it went gloriously. Any first-timers checking out these videos: don't feel like you have to prepare everything. Just roll with the punches with a few guidelines here and there, and you'll do fine.

[@Jjdude101]

HollywoodHuntsman Lmao I died when I read this - your players are horrible LMFAO

[@Madhattersinjeans]

I would be so tempted to give them the old "oh you're too good for the tutorial level? How does an ancient dragon sound?" But yeah, it is possible to prepare too much and get flustered when the players do things totally random. Being able to improvise is a very useful skill, having a few back-up events to keep them on track can help. Even just straight up saying "okay guys give me 20 minutes to generate this area i didn't expect you to go in". Is fine.

[@DarthSoto78]

The Inn can even work for experienced players. I had an Experienced group starting a new game in the Yawning Portal. They looked around the Inn, and noticed in the corner a Drow elf, and a human Barbarian. In short I had Drizzt, and Wulfgar passing through Waterdeep. The players jumped on this, and had drinks with classic forgotten realms characters before their adventure started. They very much enjoyed this, and it gave them an interesting way to RP what their characters where like at the beginning of the adventure.

[@divinkitty9452]

I've watched maybe five videos of yours and you've already become one of my favorite TTRPG youtuber, since a lot of your advice applies to other TTRPGs as well, even though you usually only reference DnD.

[@authorashleygodschild]

As someone who was just asked to DM a game for a group of women who have never played DnD (I also have never played) this series is a life saver. Thank you!

[@ineedhelp5844]

I’ve been dming for around 5 years and this is the BEST way to learn dming. This taught me how to play, how to prep games, everything. It’s a long series but I just watched what I felt fit in whatever order and it has helped tremendously.

[@CommieApe]

These videos are older and it's been said a billion times but amazing work and thank you so much.

[@silvertheelf]

8:27 Fun fact, in real life people put bounties on parts of animals like tails and ears cause they caused problems... instead of killing them, people made farms and farmed ears, tails, whatever was required which increased their numbers so when a bounty is put on an organism people don’t kill them, they farm them.

[@DubScoop1]

ive been DMing for years and i wish i had these to watch back then.. Have learnt everything first hand. The Do's and Dont's but have loved doing it all. Thanks for these, going to pass them onto friends who want to DM in the future

[@Nomzilladraws]

I'm so glad I discovered these tutorials through the Geek & Sundry website. I'm a prospective DM, hopefully starting pretty soon. My partner's uncle has 2 kids (9 and 11) who really want to play D&D and something like this would be perfect. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience :) You have earned a subscriber today

[@barny8159]

I am re watching this entire series after it got me to start playing D&D 3 years ago, quarantine has done one thing for me. Thanks Matt for these amazing videos

[@maijaruostetoja4392]

Thank you so much for this series! I've wanted to try dnd for so long with my sisters and friends and since I know the most abt the game I kinda got the role of teaching everyone else, but most my knowledge is from memes and world building. Your videos break everything down so nicely which i haven't seen before. I'm currently rewatching the series before my first session in case i missed anything!

[@pfenixarts2994]

We had a great moment a few sessions into my first real home game where the bad guys asked the PCs "what are you even doing here?" because it was their secret hideout on the edge of town and the barbarian (that had been leading the conversation so far because he's pretty charismatic) stumbled a bit and responded "Uh, I live here." We pretty much all died laughing at the absurdity of that idea, since this gang had lived in this hideout for several months at this point, but fast forward a year and they actually have claimed this location as their home and do legitimately live there. Sometimes, players fumbling on the conversations with NPCs can lead to some of the best and most memorable things about the entire game.

[@sethkelley50]

I basically went in blind with Dming And also Never playing Dnd, I watched Maybe 2 Videos and Read the Handbook. They Loved Our first Session I feel Like I learned alot and As you said the more you DM the better your gonna get!

[@kurtisnimmert7555]

I always loved the tavern trope and constantly use it when i am running a game.

[@Skyben2]

Epic videos full off really practical tips! Awesome!

[@aliciarodriguez-acosta4748]

Bruuuuhhhh.... you've just opened my eyes... my 13-year-old hyperactive brother goes bonkers when we're trying to play and it drives this newb (le me) DM crazy... but you just convinced me to embrace his energy both in and out of character during our D&D nights and let this be an outlet rather than another oppressive activity where he's asked to tone it down. Thank you so much! :D

[@projectmc15]

Wow, this video was released 7 years ago. I binged this series and 7 years later I have DMed several games which were the most fun I’ve had. Thanks Matt, you are a river to your people

[@HavardBlackmoor]

I like this going around the table with character descriptions. We use it even in established campaigns every now and then if it has been a good while since the last session. It is a nice way to get into the mood. Loving these videos!

[@JarlDM]

I recently started running a 'tropey' game of 5E, celebrating all of the old cliches and tropes, starting in a tavern and a clear quest of good vs evil. It's refreshing and fun for the players to just be heroes!

[@joelwillin5582]

I've silently enjoyed your videos for a while now among a couple others and my first campaign is going phenomenal So thanks man!

[@Clueless_Spirit]

Eight years later this is still incredible help!! I’m starting a game for some of my friends at school- I’m so excited, thanks for this!!

[@elaynalapoint5875]

I'm a brand spankin new DM with a bunch of brand new players. Most of us have never played before and we're trying now because of quarantine. These are some of the most helpful videos I've found so far, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!

[@greenWhalerpg]

When you're talking here about not giving a map, not only do you make a lot of sense to me, but you also solved the biggest riddle in my life so far: why do I like Morrowind so much. It is there, you get directions and descriptions that make you wonder about the world! This is the biggest revelation I've had in a long history of playing (and devellopping) rpg's. thank's a lot!!

[@FanaticZach]

This series is magnificent. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@pure_espress0393]

Wow, in 24 minutes, I already understand everything better.

[@BostonBlake]

I've been watching video after video as I get ready to DM my first game in two weeks. This is hands-down the most useful I've seen. 🙏🏻

[@anaa7303]

Just had my first session and I was so nervous at the start so it's really comforting to see even more experienced DMs still get anxious. Amazing playlist, this is so helpful, thanks!

[@jacobmatthew7940]

I'm learning to be a DM next week, and i'm so glad I found this channel. I'm very ADHD and the way he talks really grabs my interest. It's easy to follow.

[@kordah4550]

Even after being a DM and a player for a few years, watching these videos have given me several new things to look at. Thank you

[@rook37]

Started watching this series 5 years ago wanting to dm. Finally got around to actually getting a group together, so I'm watching it through again. Thanks for making this, it's a really motivational and helpful series :)

[@ningenmemerick5790]

This video is structured EXACTLY how I learn best. THANK YOU!!!

[@mrrodgersscience]

Hey Matthew, just ran my first ever D&D game with my kids using your kidnap/goblin/secret room game..... we all LOVED IT! Thank you!!! It was the first D&D experience for all of us. I am loving your videos, thank you so much for being awesome!! My kids (And my son's girlfriend) killed all the goblins and Bugbear found the riddle but couldn't solve it. But they loved the fact I didn't tell them anyway!!!! we are all hooked. Thanks again!!!!

[@cortesinternationalschool4062]

THANK YOU! you have given me something to breach the chasm between my generation and my kids technological lives, i have been playing DnD for a couple adventures and it has been so much fun, i found your videos and i am really enjoying and learning, i will create an adventure for them and see how it goes.

[@leonalarch3301]

This series is better than therapy for dealing with anxiety for first time DMs. Thank you Matt Colville have a great day.

[@jesternario]

I would love to see this guy put this sort of energy towards a campaign that is completely within a city, never venturing beyond. And the fun part is that a lot of the stuff said here can still be used.

[@bobbycrosby9765]

My adventurers adventure because they live in terribly brutal worlds. More Dark Sun and less Forgotten Realms.

[@Nagoto1992]

Just want to say a year+ after this was posted you're helping new players! I appreciate your content greatly. Thank you.

[@jeffreycunningham6500]

2+ years now... I just found this series and I want to find people to play d&d so I can DM ... lol

[@YogscastFan201]

"But there is pizza in there somewhere" I actually started making an adventure with a huge (bit of an exaggeration) magic element a few months ago and I was eating pizza.

[@tiggerdyret]

I have been GM'ing Vampire: The Masquerade for many years and now I'm diving into DW to introduce my blind dad to TTRPGs, and these videos are so useful, when trying to get into the mindset needed to introduce someone completely new to high fantasy adventures the right way.

[@lioneluran]

I've been playing D&D for a while (about 10 years I guess, with very long interruptions, though). I came to find your channel trying to learn how to use Fantasy Grounds. Then I found all this series of "running your first adventure" and I love it. You're super fun to hear and even as an experienced player, I'm learning stuff. Keep up the good work and thank you very much!

[@LarsaXL]

I know this is like 6 years old, but thank you for making this. I'm just about to introduce a bunch of classmates to DnD and this helps a lot. Since I'm the most experienced player I offered to DM, this series helps a lot.

[@aprillauf9362]

I am late to the party - but THANK YOU for keeping these around! I've been playing for just about a year now... I don't consider myself too deep in the D&D world, however I decided I wanted to start my own campaign. Keep up the hard work!

[@anupsetrichtoften]

Matt, I ran this adventure for my family tonight. We used your pre-made characters too! None of us had ever played before, and it was a blast. Thank you very much!!

[@dreadmorg]

Rewatching. Can't help but wish there was this thing called the internet and KZbin and this channel back in 1980-ish when I first started. You really nailed it Matt.

[@30Bats]

Matthew, thank you so much for all of these videos. New DM as of a few months ago and I watched all your videos before starting (or at least the ones that were applicable for our game). Thank you so much. You made a fan out of me and D&D pulled together a group of friends and reunited me with a childhood best friend I hadn't seen in years. Thanks for all the advice and help!

[@shaharyahalom6585]

Wow you are excellent All the knowledge I tried to gain in half a year you daughter me arranged in 15 hours keep doing what you are doing!!!

[@Reyversha]

I started by getting my players kidnapped together in a tower, where they need to escape with the help of the resistance of the empire, which was the one who locked them there. The empire is corrupted and they kidnap and enslave anyone who even thinks of going against the emperor. At the start of the game I told the players to give me one thing the empire did to them that made them do the thing that got them locked up/ the thing they did to get locked up. That was a one shot where they needed to escape though, later we made a longer campaign where they chose whether to help the empire or go against it. Unlike the oneshot which the empire was painted black you could see that both the empire and the resistance had motives and they could choose sides. It was a lot of fun and they chose to help the empire. There is a lot of other lore about it and it was originally one of the books I never published so I also had a lot of fun doing something with the story.

[@Reyversha]

my players did read it, and it also portrayed both sides as morally grey so it was really fun. Not my first adventure though

[@alexis91514]

I'll be DMing my first game in about a week. I am making my own adventure and have almost everything prepared. Planning is the easy part for me, the execution is so much harder, especially the first steps. So thanks for doing this. Although I am not doing the tavern start, one of the players hate that trope; so caravan ambush it will be. I am going to binge most of this playlist in the next few days. I already watched a few here and there and I really love the presentation and the delivery.

[@Emzyisaces]

So, my husband and I went to our first ever D&D evening last week. We sucked at it but got hooked hard! I'm now skirting around the idea of becoming a DM so there will always be someone around when our friends come over and we need a game. I know you published them a couple of years ago but thank you so much for these videos. They are filling me with confidence...and also chuckles. 😍👍

[@ZombieRamone]

This is such a great series. Randomly looked it up since I'm thinking about DMing for the first time since the 80s, and was not disappointed. Seriously good work, dude!!

[@trenthogan4212]

I knew it. I knew you'd be a fellow Rush fan. Hello from Toronto. (Rush Mecca) ;)

[@giri.goyo_yt]

Wow. This is THE BEST crash course in D&D history I’ve ever heard. Excellent series here. I’m about to create my own one-shot or one pager. Thanks, Matthew!

[@61head]

Great stuff! I have never played DND, but have always had an interest. Now my adult sons have shown an interest and so I am gearing up to learn how to play and how to run a dungeon, Our circumstance is such that the pandemic keeps us from joining other persons, so your videos have been a tremendous help. Thank you.

[@shivernaut8607]

this has been the most useful channel for my first time dm'ing. the action oriented monsters and trap videos were especially helpful.

[@BapadapTV]

thanks, Matt! this is awesome! I have been DMing for a little while, but I'm still pretty new. The insight you have is really refreshing!

[@MrNathanElectro]

I'm just about to start DM-ing for my son and his friends... this is easily the greatest resource I've found! Thanks so much - I was a little nervous but now I think our first session will be a lot of fun...

[@historywatcher9721]

Wow, after reading and reading and listening and listening to so many sources, this is the most straightforward I've gotten this sort of info. Many thanks. About to run games and have other newbies run games for the first time ever, and for a pack of 5th through 8th graders!

[@peteonretreat2023]

I’m loving this series so far, thank you! I use to play AD&D over 25 years ago and am looking to get back in. I became the DM for our group of friends after watching them place once without me and held that role for a few years. We played with about 50% house rules with the goal just to have fun. Your videos are inspiring me to pick up the role again!

[@alecwatson2981]

thank you so much for this series. I truly mean it! you have helped me so much! you have made a daunting task immeasurably easyer and I can't wait to run my first session tonight!

[@latenightroon]

Tried DMing two and a half years ago, and got burned by a few problem players who would deliberately go out of their way to avoid, if not entirely derail the plot. It made me not want to DM again, but I recently got the motivation again and decided to check out this series. Thank you for making this.

[@ronwhite7712]

Enjoyed this. Will be helpful for future games. My current game I started the players in a dark room, headaches, pitching floor. The found out they had been drugged & shanghi'd - and had no memory of who they were. (I had asked them to come with 2 characters, but then gave them character sheets I had prepared with name, race, height & weight, and that's it.) The first couple encounters were simply to help them figure out their class, approximate hit points, and some idea of their levels. Now we're past that (pretty much) and on into "regular" adventures with these characters. They enjoyed the figuring out, and having to play characters they wouldn't necessarily have picked otherwise.

[@BarokaiRein]

I'm so happy I was never that guy who did the whole ''Mysterious man in the dark corner ignores you'' thing.

[@Kasino80]

The way the characters in Silverado meet is a fantastic, fun and unique way to meet, and I think I'm gonna use that for my easter campaign.

[@nicklarson6634]

Basically I got "do whatever you want, but commit" And honestly that is exactly what I needed to hear right now

[@shoganflamemasta3975]

I'm the one who will introduce my friends to D&D and i'm really nervous, i don't want to overwhelm them with rules, i want them to have fun, and learn as they play. I would like them to understand how to make their own characters without my help eventually, and to develop some kind of background. The worst thing is that i'm not that experienced in roleplaying games myself, not even as a player. We are playing D&D the fifth edition, wich my brother said it's the most newbie friendly one. And hell, the amount of rules it has still messes with me, you even have rules for calculating time when traveling, if it's on foot, if it's with horses, etc. I suppose you can ignore plenty of those not so important rules, but if i seen them i feel like i have to know and aply them, that's how i am. But the thing i'm most worried about is they having fun, because if i can get them hooked, then my job is done, and they will be willing to learn more, and even alone (even if some of they don't speak a lot of english, since the manual doesn't have official translations). Anyway, i find these videos very helpfull, i will try my best creating the adventure.

[@Madhattersinjeans]

Don't know if you got over this issue 2 years ago but if in doubt don't bother looking up the rules in the moment. Just make a ruling on how fast the players are likely to move or if they can move an obstacle based on their circumstances (just be honest with them and tell them you're not sure). Then look up the official ruling afterward and you can all laugh about how you totally messed this up. And do the correct thing in future. It tends to ruin the rhythm of the game if you're constantly checking notes and looking at books back and forth. Don't be too harsh on them in their first game it's about having fun after all. And if you're not confident just tell them "we'll have a test encounter to see how it pans out" which should help inform you 1. how your players might act in combat 2. what rules are most likely to come up that need checking (and thus what you need to remember) 3. If any of the players need a little help

[@matthewmonroe1135]

My DM sent me this series to help me put together a few shadowrun adventures and it's helping a lot, thank you!