5 Quick Fixes for New DM's
So, you had a couple of DnD sessions. You got into the hobby, the party is waiting for the next session, everything swell, right? Like any other hobby, everybody can improve in their craft, and being a Dungeon Master is not an exception. Let's talk about the common mistakes I see from newly baked DMs and what we can learn from them.
Combat Mistakes
One of the most common mistakes I experience with inexperienced DM's is the scale of combat.
Most of the time, when the Newbie DM prepares, they think that more is better, and they will be the ones that will make the Epic encounter with 30 skeleton warriors and the Boss necromancer in the open field that feels just the most Epic encounter there could be. It's ambitious, brave, and it's absolutely... Unnecessary. With this type of thinking, we encounter one of the gravest mistakes when it comes to combat. We add way too many enemies, make way to big maps, and in the end, the players get cursed by it. It's a curse that can occur, which I call the Curse of number-crunching.
So first, keep in mind the combat map. If you start the combat, but there are 150ft. between the enemy and your party, that's about five to seven turns of boredom to close the distance. Think of it, if you have a dwarf fighter with 25ft. of movement, would you like to spend that much time traveling just to hit the thing? I don't think so.
The shrinking of the size of the map serves us in a couple of ways. One of them is that we don't waste time in combat just to hit an enemy. Second, a better sense of threat is introduced to the players because monsters can reach them faster. There might be range attack opponents, but players should reach them in a max of two to three turns. Otherwise, it becomes a slog just trying to chase the enemy down instead of fighting them.
Another encounter mistake that I find is the overwhelming number of enemies. The problem with adding more monsters than your (party size)+1 is that the combat becomes less exciting the more you add. If everyone spends around 1-2 minutes per combat, that's 8-16min till the player does anything. If you're not portraying the damage that is dealt, there is no playing music in the background the combat can become a tremendous slog. Having four players to fight 15 monsters is not exciting at all, just because it will mean that players will be waiting 20min for their turn to do something.
I believe that offering smaller-sized groups of enemies with different abilities will be more satisfactory for the players than an exorbitant amount of the same flavor. If you still want more "enemies", consider adding traps one time explosives indicated for the group to create a more dynamic combat encounter instead of adding more enemies.
Quick Fix For Combat:
Make that the party members could reach the enemies in 2/3 turns at most.
When making an encounter - a general rule of thumb is the party size number + 1 or 2 creatures to make encounters fast and crisp.
Go in-depth in combat rather than offering more of the same.
Over preparation
The newer DM you're, the more you prep, the more experienced you're, the less you prepare. That's the gist of it. You don't need that much to run a successful campaign or a session. If you're running a 4-6 hours session, there are only four to six "encounters" tops that will matter. Introduction to the session like people sitting at the inn and describing their characters - that's one encounter, fighting someone - that's an encounter, talking with a quest giver - that's the same old encounter. New DM's disregard the smaller stuff like talking with an NPC as it would be free time-wise. No, they don't get completed in a fast way, trust me. This is why we need to recognize that puzzles, inns, shopping, and other things do take time, sometimes even more than combat itself, and it's not necessary to prepare too much in advance.
Essential Preparation
My logic makes me believe that there should be only a couple of things we should focus on while preparing - A flexible story structure, combat encounters, and NPC's.
A flexible story structure - Write key events that you want in the session - snow dungeon, yeti mage, escape the giant snowball trap, crazy NPC that sells boots made of fishskin, and other crap. Having a small brainstorm helps plan out the segments in a more effective way. The same goes with the whole campaign story, tent to be a gardener rather than an architect when it comes to planning.
Tend not to set concrete ways to reach a point in your story. It's a journey that the party might want to discover themselves. Having a flexible plan and set pieces eliminates all the possible railroading incidents that can occur if you try to shove a specific course of action to your players. Player choice trumps DM's preparation every time because it creates more fun for the party, ergo DM. Flexible set-pieces always provide more fairness than a forced story or a trap that lands on the party's head. Every. Single. Time.
After having elements you want in your session, create encounters that the players could trigger. Maybe the snowball trap appears if they get stuck in a Yeti's lair trap. If the trap check is successful, you can reuse your idea of the trap as a unique magical apparatus that the yeti can use once in combat. The crazy NPC can be encountered in the town. If the players skip the town, maybe the NPC is discovered at the dungeon in "Yeti's Fridge Room(Prison)."
Quick Fix for Overpreparation:
Prepping for DnD is like traveling light, prepare the essential bits, leave the heavy baggage behind.
Think about your encounters/story and NPCs being presented in a more modular way.
Players come to experience the story, not get an ear beating of only your story, be flexible, and avoid railroading.
Narrative mistake: Control of Time
It's a weird concept. It's delicate, yet players can feel it. DM's have the power to pass years in just seconds and otherwise. So what can go wrong with time control in your games?
It can create a feeling of emptiness. When traveling from point A to point B, there should be a feeling that the players are traveling. Maybe it's a short description, perhaps an encounter, perhaps a comment to one of the players about a sailor in the ship asking the player to play cards. The time in the game needs to feel that it's passing. It must have some purpose, even if it's a slight one. Because saying and you arrive to point B after a week serves no point for traveling. You can do the same thing on the same land plot if you do not think about traveling. So the more you travel, the more you should put flavor in their journeys. And always keep in mind that these small moments should be an opportunity for the players to express their characters.
Quick Fix:
If you're using time skips, use them intentionally. Without meaning, they create an empty feeling of void for the players.
If you're traveling, make it feel like you're traveling. And traveling is about memories. Create memories for your players. Let them express their character differences with these moments.
Getting comfortable with DM's role
Feeling uncomfortable is a thing where every new DM goes through. It's the DM'ing nerves and doubt before the first session, especially if you're running the game with some other DM's in the party. The simple answer to this is - it's going to be okay. After 10-15min of being weirded out, you'll probably understand that DM's role is to enjoy yourself in the process. However, improvisation and adaptation is a DM skill that trumps all others. Your players maybe want to go on a wild goose chase, and your task is to adapt to their wants as best as possible. Suppose you hold your precious preparation more than your players will to explore and do their things. The problem of railroading can occur, becoming a horrible punishment to your players, caused by over preparation. So relax.
Concentrate your party focus
I've seen this problem where DM's are hyped for the game so much they forget to breathe or let their players relax. This one happens when the DM forgets to do small breaks, there is a snack shortage on the table, or the DM loses the sense of time while playing. Relax, have short breaks, prepare for combat, let the players talk it out, and then get back where you left off. If the players are distracted, that's a great indicator to ask if they want to have a short break.
Ask. Every. Single. Time. - How was the session?
Asking this question is the best way to tailor your GM skills to your players' needs, create an environment where the people can express their opinions, and most importantly, take the criticism with no hard feelings. This is a sure way to create a healthy atmosphere at your table and criticize yourself if need be. Asking this question will help you tremendously to become a better DM and create an environment where your players become better players themselves.
Read Next:
Essential Things to Get When Starting to Play D&D
The Ultimate Dungeons And Dragons Holiday Gift Guide(2020)
How to Prepare for your FIRST Session
How To Create A Good Atmosphere At Your Table
Writing Characters For Your Dungeons And Dragons Game
If you enjoyed this content and want to see more of Dungeon Goblin's content, consider supporting us on Patreon. Dungeon Goblin is a new blog, and your support matters immensely to us. We want you to become one of the first Dungeon Goblin supporters and grow it into something amazing one day. Thank you for reading and watching!
