What to Do if You’re a Nervous First Time DM

You stand in the central chamber of this strange cavern. You and your companions look at each other warily. Suddenly a spectral form emerges from the rock wall. It faces you and then starts drifting slowly in a wide circle around your band. Suddenly more emerge. They too begin floating lazily around you in a wide circle. As every second passes, more and more ghosts surround you and your companion. Within minutes there are thousands of them. Some float slower, others faster. Soon you find yourself completely surrounded by countless ghosts all whirling and twirling. Right in front of you though, it seems as if some sort of pattern emerges. Though all the ghosts are moving, it seems as if a ghostly face is before you, always changing, but somehow still the same.

“What is your question?” A loud voice says.

You and your companions have done it. You’ve found the Oracle of Alondras. She will answer any question you ask. You have an important one. How can you stop the coming war? She’ll answer the question, you know this for certain.

But then she’ll try to kill you.

So what would you like to do?

Welcome back to the 10th episode of how to be a better DM. In simple terms, this show is all about helping you tell better stories as you DM a session of DND 5e.

Before we hop into today’s show, let me shout out the master of audio of this show, namely, Cowchy Audio. If you ever need help with audio tasks, reach out to Cowchy Audio on Instagram. Direct message @ kahootaz and he’ll get you set up.

Now let’s hop into today’s show.

Here’ s What to Do if You’re a Nervous First Time DM!

First of all, you need to know that every DM is nervous the first time they run a session. It’s ok to be nervous. More importantly, it’s ok to make mistakes and do things wrong. No matter what happens, you need to promise you’ll do another session. The 2nd session is always more fun than the first.

So here are a few tips.

Let your players know you are nervous.

If this is your first time, you can tell your players. People love to be empathetic so they will work with you and be more patient. Just let them know that you’re nervous and they will make up some of the gaps.

Keep the session simple

You can do the crazy things in the next sessions. In this first session, just keep the plot simple. A to B to C to D. Think about it like that. If you’re using a campaign book, follow that and you can add in more flavor to later sessions. By keeping it simple, you won’t get flustered when something complicated comes up (because it probably won’t).

Make sure you understand combat rules (at least generally)

Make sure you understand the general idea that first you roll initiative, and then each person goes. If you know how combat works, you’ve basically mastered half of the session. So before the session make sure you read up on the rules of combat.

Listen to other DnD Dungeon Master’s

One thing that has helped me is listening to other DM’s on Youtube. They go through the rules often so it’s great for a periodic refresher. I would recommend High Rollers on Youtube. They are from the UK (awesome group). There’s obviously also Critical Role with Matt Mercer. I also love Viva La Dirt League’s NPC Man DND. All great options.

Role Play the Role Play

If you want, you can even do a dry run through the session in the mirror (sped up of course) or you can do it with another person. This helps to get some of the kinks out and more importantly helps you practice those parts that you’ve already prepared to sound even better. Obviously, there are part you’ll have to do on the fly, but going through it helps you keep the order of events in your mind for during the session.

Choose awesome players

It’s easier to DM when your players are awesome. It’s better if they have had experience playing DND, but choosing players that you know you get along with is a must. Don’t DM a group of people you don’t think you’ll enjoy playing with if it’s your first time. You’ll regret it. Honestly, I’m not even sure you should DM for a group of people you don’t like period, but who knows.

Intentionally Make a Mistake

If you’re nervous about your first session, then this is a simple fix. You’re probably nervous because you want it to be perfect. Or you at least want to do a good job. Sometimes, we as humans forget that we can make mistakes and still do well. So within the first five minutes of your session, intentionally make a mistake. Then correct yourself and say, “oops, my mistake.”

9 times out of 10, your players won’t care and this will help you calm down because you’ll realize that you can make mistakes and it doesn’t really matter.

Again, the important thing is to make sure to do your next session. The 2nd session is always better than the first. You’ll have more fun and you’ll love this hobby much more.

Thanks for listening to today’s episode. As always, send me a direct message on Instagram to @geronimolevis with any questions, comments, suggestions or even just to tell how your campaign is going.

I appreciate you listening and you appreciate this show, give it a rating and review. Until next time. Let’s roll initiative.